Adelaide Crows young key defender Jordon Butts (Picture: Adelaide Football Club/Website)
Adelaide Crows key defender Jordon Butts says that leadership is a focus for him this year as he prepares for another full campaign at West Lakes.
After his first full season for the Crows, Butts is hoping that his leadership as shown through his on-field actions will start to take shape in a more vocal way on field.
“That’s a goal that I’ve really set myself for this pre-season… usually I’m the last line of defence, so to help everyone set up on the ground is probably my main goal,” he said.
“In the past, I was probably more actions (than words), but I want to be able to focus on myself and get my role done but also help out my fellow defenders as well and set them up.
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Joining the likes of Lachlan Sholl, Will Hamill, Nick Murray, Billy Frampton and James Borlase as some of the least experienced, Butts hopes that he can start to help his younger teammates.
“Tommy Doedee has been helpful in that area for me… we all work in sync together and all help each other out,” he said.
“We’ve still got a lot of key defenders that are working hard on their craft and are pushing for spots as well… we gel together and work together,”
Learning from Doedee, Brodie Smith and Luke Brown has helped Butts to find his footing within the defensive group at the Crows.
During his first full season at the Crows, Butts has now been able to get more out of the pre-season grind knowing what lies beyond it during the season.
He added he has found that being comfortable being uncomfortable is the key for further development, especially when tasked against the league’s biggest key forwards.
“The more I can get comfortable on the training track the more comfortable I’ll be out on the ground… just building habits in that area,” he said.
“You’re not going to be in the best spot at times so you’ve got to scrap and fight and find a way to get yourself back into it.
“I’m trying to build on what I did last year and play a bit more assertively and a bit more attacking.”
During the 22 games in the 2021 season, he took 84 marks and 30 tackles for the season.
Butts became a candidate for the main key forward within the Crows side, previously held by Daniel Talia, a mentor to Butts before his departure from the club.
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