ZAK Butters has capped a brilliant season by winning the John Cahill Medal as Port Adelaide’s best and fairest player.
The 23-year-old polled 190 votes to finish 20 clear of runner-up Connor Rozee, with fellow All-Australian Dan Houston in third place.
Butters took the lead in round eight, when he gathered 28 disposals in a narrow win over Essendon and edged away from that point to claim victory at the Adelaide Convention Centre.
He was remarkably consistent after a slow start, polling votes in all but two of the club's 25 games.
Butters averaged 27 disposals and kicked 13 goals during a season in which he became one of the competition's elite midfielders, earning his first All-Australian blazer and winning the AFL Coaches' Association Champion Player of the Year award.
Consistent midfielder Willem Drew took home the Fos Williams Medal as the best team man as voted by his teammates, as well as finishing fourth in the best and fairest count.
In the other awards, second-year midfielder Jason Horne-Francis claimed the Gavin Wanganeen Award as the best player under 21 and Miles Bergman the Coaches' Award as the most improved player.
2023 John Cahill Medal Top 10
1. Zak Butters – 190 votes
2. Connor Rozee – 170
3. Dan Houston – 158
4. Willem Drew – 115
5. Aliir Aliir – 113
6. Sam Powell-Pepper – 104
7. Jason Horne-Francis – 97
8. Miles Bergman – 90
9. Darcy Byrne-Jones – 89
10. Ollie Wines – 86
