Port Adelaide's young gun Zak Butters says he's relishing the challenge of easing the midfield burden on his more experienced AFL teammates.
Butters expects more midfield minutes in the looming premiership season as the Power seek to atone for their preliminary final flop last year.
Butters and Xavier Duursma, both 21, and 22-year-old Connor Rozee will be increasingly swung through the Power's on-ball brigade in 2022 to lighten the loads on established midfield stars such as Brownlow medallist Ollie Wines, Travis Boak and Robbie Gray.
"I don't see it as pressure ... it is more of a challenge," Butters told reporters on Monday.
"As athletes, that challenge is something I look forward to.
"I get out of bed wanting to get better, to improve and to show what I can do.
"That is exciting for me ... it's a great opportunity for me and the younger guys, that is how we see it.
"We have a wide range of players who can go through the midfield; me, Connor, Dan Houston and even (new draftee) Josh Sinn.
"There is definitely competition for spots and that is what makes it healthy for this football club ... no one wants to be rocking up knowing they are comfortable and can walk into that midfield.
"You have to be rocking up every day fighting for that role and that is what we have at the moment.
"I like that competitive side as well, you have to be fighting for it, that leads to the best version of the 22 you select for game day.
"It is the next wave of players ... that has to push our team getting better.
"We can do that.
"The early-20s to mid-20s have taken ownership of making the club get better, we have taken on that responsibility."
Butters, entering his fourth AFL season, said Port eagerly anticipated the fresh season after being 71-point preliminary final losers to the Western Bulldogs last year.
"After the way we went out last year, we just want to get back to playing footy and some good footy," he said.
"We have worked on things we needed to work on and we are now looking forward to putting that out on the field on game day.
"We need to keep working on our contested stuff, that is where we got beaten in the preliminary final; that is what let us down.
"As a midfield group, we are really focused on that this year."
