Each week, ESPN.com.au's Jake Michaels looks at six talking points from the AFL world.
This week's Six Points feature the hottest young player in the sport, the latest instalment of the dire Eagles, why low-scoring football doesn't equate to bad football, and the worst MRO decision in history.
1. Right this moment, there's only five players in the AFL better than Zak Butters
Long-time, loyal listeners of the ESPN Footy Podcast may recall Christian Joly's "Big Call" ahead of the 2022 season which left both Matt Walsh and I extremely skeptical. "Port Adelaide will be premier and Zak Butters will win both the Brownlow Medal and Norm Smith Medal," he declared.
Christian was predicting a Dustin Martin-esque 2017 season -- maybe the best individual year I've ever witnessed -- from Butters, who to that point had played just 48 games, was averaging 15 disposals and had only three Brownlow votes to his name. It was ludicrous. Totally farfetched. Write your own ticket, as any bookmaker would say.
Admittedly, Christian might have jumped the gun by 12 months, but he clearly foreshadowed this meteoric rise from Butters, and the Power. The 22-year-old midfielder has been the driving force of Port Adelaide's record-setting 10-game winning streak, shortening to outright second-favourite in the race for the league's best and fairest award.
On my Brownlow predictor, I believe Butters is a chance to poll in every single one of Port's wins. I've given him 18.5 votes between rounds four and 13 (19.5 for the year) which has him sitting equal-first with Melbourne's Christian Petracca. He also leads the AFLCA's coaches votes with 73.
This year, Butters is Champion Data's No. 1 ranked player in terms of rating points per 100 minutes. He's also the only midfielder in the game to be classed as 'elite' for both intercepts and score assists, highlighting his ability to work both offensively and defensively. He is a remarkable competitor at the contest, particularly for his size, and uses the ball with great precision, rarely wasting a possession.
The list of players better than him is shortening by the week. And I don't mean players you'd rather have for the next decade, I'm talking about players you'd rather have today, for today. Here's the list, in order:
1. Christian Petracca
2. Jeremy Cameron
3. Clayton Oliver
4. Marcus Bontempelli
5. Charlie Curnow
That's it. Butters is the sixth-best player in the league right now.
2. The Eagles are so bad they're now distorting the record books
Another week, another embarrassing performance by West Coast. This time a whopping 122-point loss to the Crows at Adelaide Oval, a game where Taylor Walker booted a career-high 10 goals.
Adam Simpson's side has now been beaten in 11 straight games -- all of them by over 40 points, three times over 100 points -- and has won just three games since July, 2021. Pardon the cliche, but it's real 'Fitzroy areas'.
In almost every game this year the Eagles have allowed an opposing player, or team, to re-write the history books. Here's proof:
ROUND 1: Harry Sheezel sets the record for most disposals (34) on AFL debut, since statistics have been recorded.
ROUND 3: Caleb Serong records career-highs in disposals (35) and inside 50s (12).
ROUND 5: Cats score 136 points, the club's highest score of the year.
ROUND 7: Charlie Curnow kicks a career-high nine goals, Blues record highest score since 2012.
ROUND 8: Shai Bolton has the second 30-disposal, three-goal game of his career. Both games were against the Eagles.
ROUND 9: Suns record its biggest away win (70 points) in club history.
ROUND 10: Hawks record biggest win (116 points) since 2015, as Eagles held to lowest score (26) since 1992.
ROUND 13: Taylor Walker kicks a career-high 10 goals, Crows record biggest win since 2016.
READ: Do the Eagles deserve a priority pick?
I've never been a great advocate of handing out priority picks, especially to clubs which have fallen off the cliff -- after all, the Eagles did win a premiership just five years ago -- but this side is making a case it desperately needs one.
3. Dan Butler's one-game suspension is the worst MRO decision in history
It's extremely rare the football community agrees on something. It's even rarer it agrees on something to do with the MRO.
Dan Butler's supposed 'dangerous tackle' on Nick Blakey seems to be one of these once-in-a-blue-moon moments where everyone is on the same page. It wasn't dangerous. It wasn't malicious. It was a textbook tackle, executed perfectly, and one which should have been rewarded with a holding-the-ball free kick.
Dan Butler was penalised for this dangerous tackle on Nick Blakey.#AFLSwansSaints pic.twitter.com/kYiFqzkrrP
— AFL (@AFL) June 8, 2023
But it wasn't. Unfortunately Blakey's head hit the SCG turf and he was later subbed out of the game, having failed his concussion test. That fact, and that fact alone, meant the MRO handed Butler a one-game suspension for rough conduct. It's the most embarrassing judicial decision made in the MRO era, and thankfully it was overturned Tuesday night at the AFL tribunal.
READ: Tackling has become a 'lucky dip', now nobody is safe
But how much longer is it going to take before the AFL acknowledges it's the action which should be punished, not the outcome?
We simply cannot punish Butler for this incident. He displayed care and caution in the tackle, didn't dump or sling Blakey to the ground. Accidents will forever occur in a collision sport, particularly one which has 36 players on the ground at any one time, but not all are worthy of suspension. My only hope is that this incident becomes the catalyst for change. I'm not holding my breath, though.
4. Hawthorn has shown more in the last month than Carlton has all season
All signs were pointing towards a difficult campaign for Hawthorn, one which many expected could result in a bottom-of-the-ladder finish. To be 4-9 after 13 rounds has exceeded just about everyone's expectations, and the rate of improvement over the last month has to excite the fan base.
ROUND 10: Defeated West Coast by 116 points, the club's biggest win since Round 17, 2015.
ROUND 11: Came from 20 points down to beat St Kilda. First back-to-back wins since July last year.
ROUND 12: Blown away by Port Adelaide 105-23 in the first half. Fought back immensely to score 96 points and reduce the margin to 55 at fulltime.
ROUND 13: Beat Brisbane, one of the premiership fancies, by 25 points.
Over the last month, the Hawks have been the No. 1 scoring team in the league, rank second for turnover score differential and fourth from clearance score differential. They're also the No. 1 contested possession side and the highest-ranked team in terms of efficient ball movement from defensive 50 to attacking 50.
Sam Mitchell is consistently fielding the youngest team in the league, but they haven't been showing signs of inexperience, particularly through the midfield. Jai Newcombe (21), Will Day (22), Dylan Moore (23), Connor Nash (24) and James Worpel (24) have already formed a great midfield core, and all have their best years ahead of them.
But it's not just in the middle of the park. Skipper James Sicily is the top-ranked key defender in the competition, while Mitch Lewis ranks fourth among key forwards over the last month.
The Hawks have now won the same amount of games as Carlton in 2023 and Mitchell is proving it's far from the doom and gloom many predicted. That rebuild we've all been talking about mightn't take as long as expected.
5. Low-scoring football doesn't equate to bad football. High-scoring football doesn't equate to good football.
Thursday night's game between the Swans and Saints was an absolute shocker - there's no denying that.
It was scrappy. It was error-riddled. It was high turnover. It was (very nearly) unwatchable. But the narrative it was a snoozefest because it was low-scoring is just flatly false and something I do not, and will never subscribe to.
Firstly, the combined score between the two sides was 146 points. The AFL average for 2023 is only 22 points higher at 168, and there have already been 51 games this year with a lower combined score. Funny how this is the first time for the year I've heard the "low scores are killing football" argument trotted out.
Secondly, were you bored during Monday afternoon's King's Birthday clash? I didn't think so. You know how many points the Demons and Pies combined for? 128. But that didn't matter, the game was captivating from the first siren until the last. The other game everyone was fawning over was the Adelaide-Collingwood clash to finish Round 7. Just 117 points were scored in that one.
Thursday night's game was a dud due to the lack of skill and intensity, not because scoring was down. It's an important distinction.
And just as high-scoring games don't always mean engaging contests -- last week the Power and Hawks combined for 247 points, yet the game was all but over five minutes into the second term -- low-scoring games aren't necessarily tough watches.
6. Post-game guernsey swaps should be a regular occurrence at AFL level
There's something truly heartwarming about two players coming together after a game and exchanging jumpers. It's a mark of respect, great sportsmanship and always leads to a great photo opportunity.
This past weekend we saw two of the great modern-day, crafty forwards in Luke Breust and Jack Gunston become the latest pair to swap guernseys. The dynamic duo played 203 games together at the Hawks, combining for over 800 goals and each winning three premierships.
Guernsey swaps - should they happen more often in the #AFL?
— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) June 13, 2023
The @footytips crew discuss it in Red Time, brought to you by @subwayaustralia.
FULL POD 🎧: https://t.co/C4K8hAdAYn pic.twitter.com/WizxdKNFUf
Earlier in the year, Tom Hawkins and Jack Riewoldt did the same thing after their game against each other. I love seeing it and think it's something which should happen more in the AFL. Now, do I want half a dozen of these exchanges after every game? No. But every now and then, for champions of the sport, or former teammates, absolutely!