ZAK Butters starts his fourth season at Port Adelaide amid a group of ambitious tyros being asked to take their AFL football to a higher level, so the team can take the next step in the premiership race.

Are Butters, Connor Rozee, Xavier Duursma, Dan Houston, Todd Marshall and Co feeling the pressure?

"I don't see it as pressure ... it is more of a challenge," Butters said at Alberton 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 (challenge) is exciting for me. I don't see it as pressure. It is 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; you want that (fierce competition for key roles).

"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.  

"We know what we are going to get from (seasoned players) Travis Boak and Robbie Gray, who have both come back in great nick again by doing a lot of hard work along with the other older guys including (captain) Tom Jonas.

"We know what we are going to get from them. It is the next wave of players - me, Connor, Xav and even with (2021 first-round draftee) Josh Sinn coming in and training well - that has to push our team getting better. We can do that. The (group of players aged in the) early-20s to mid-20s have taken ownership of making the club get better. We have taken on that responsiblity."

Butters' challenge is not only in how he competes on the field, but also how he presents off the field where Port Adelaide is seeking to develop more and more leaders to follow captain Tom Jonas.

"I always look to lead with the energy I bring to training and the game," Butters said. "That is with my competitiveness and action - and how I expect my team-mates to train as well. For me, it is now about how to give that communication and feedback to team-mates.

"(Forwards coach) Nathan Bassett is leading that at the football club this year - and is going to help the football club the more guys we have stepping up as leaders."

Port Adelaide's pre-season brings the first test from an AFL rival on Friday with a trial game against Gold Coast (2.30pm SA time start) at Metricon Stadium in south-east Queensland.

After months of internal competition - culiminating with an internal trial last Friday - the pressure from an AFL team brings meaningful obstacles to overcome.

"And we are very keen," Butters said. "Obviously, after the way we went out last year (with the home preliminary final loss to the Western Bulldogs), we just want to get back to playing footy - and some good footy as well.

"We have had a good off-season; 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. The next few weeks are a good opportunity to do that, to express what we have been working on."

Pre-seasons are renowned for having all AFL clubs declare the hard work across summer has delivered a faster, stronger and more-focussed team. But what has this pre-season done for Port Adelaide's football?

"We need to keep working on our contested stuff," Butters said. "That is where we got beaten in the preliminary final; that is what let us down. As a midfield group, we are really focussed on that this year. We can't have two or three games a year where we get beaten badly in there.

"We have to minimise that, making it closer if we are losing contested ball. There is some defensive stuff as a team (that has changed with assistant coach) Chad Cornes taking over the defenders this year and being very strong on that (defensive action). There has been a few bits of tinkering (with the game to make it better)."

Butters, 21, starts his fourth AFL premiership season - after a horror run with injuries and surgery that restricted him to 12 of a possible 24 matches last year - with the confidence of having worked in every pre-season session.

"I have a lot of confidence back in my body now," Butters said. "And I am looking to build on that in the next couple of weeks. I feel 100 per cent - and ready to go and have a big season in the midfield.

"At this time of the year you give yourself the best opportunity to get your body right. I have had a full season; not missed a session. So, touch wood, my body is ready."

Butters anticipates he will still mix and match tasks in the midfield and at half-forward, despite the half-forward line becoming the work zone of the motivated pair of Sam Powell-Pepper and father-son draftee Jackson Mead.

"I will still spend some time at half-forward," Butters said. "Hopefully, I will build into a full-time midfielder in the future.  At the moment I still think I will still have a 60-40 or 70-30 split (between attack and midfield) as the coaches want. We also want different blokes in the midfield with fresh legs. And you need to be a well-rounded player these days (rather than focussed on one role).

"Hopefully, in the future I will build to more midfield minutes."

On the injury front, All-Australian forward Charlie Dixon has returned to Alberton after surgery to an ankle injury from pre-season training. This increases hope of Dixon leading the Port Adelaide attack in the home-and-away season-opener on Saturday, March 19 against Brisbane at the Gabba.

"He is still pushing for round one - and we know how important he is for our team," Butters said of Dixon. "He is definitely moving better. It is good to see him back at the club. We look forward to having him as soon as possible."