PORT ADELAIDE midfielder Zak Butters has won his first Peter Badcoe VC Medal, following a gutsy performance in his side’s Anzac Appeal Round clash with North Melbourne on Saturday.
The Badcoe Medal was voted on by five journalists and media personalities covering the match and is awarded to the player who best demonstrates the ANZAC spirit and qualities of skill, courage in adversity, self-sacrifice, teamwork and fair play during the game.
Major Peter Badcoe VC served in the Vietnam War and is the last South Australian to be awarded the Victoria Cross - the military’s highest honour for bravery.
He was one of Australia's greatest war heroes, a highly decorated soldier whose acts of bravery and courage saw him awarded the medal for three separate acts during the Vietnam conflict.
Major Badcoe died on a battlefield in Vietnam on April 7, 1967 - his last action on that day seeing him single-handedly try to stop a Vietcong machine gunner from firing on allied South Vietnamese troops.
Butters had 27 disposals, five clearances and a game-high 13 tackles to be the clear winner of the Peter Badcoe VC Medal for 2024 with a total of 13 votes ahead of teammate Jason Horne-Francis and North’s Tristian Xerri.
TOTAL VOTES
Butters (PA) - 13
Horne-Francis (PA) – 5
Xerri (NM) – 5
Parker (NM) – 3
Powell-Pepper (PA) – 1
Rozee (PA) - 1
Drew (PA) - 1
Davies-Uniacke (NM) – 1
ALL THE VOTES
Shaun Burgoyne – Fox Footy
3 – Butters (PA)
2 – Horne-Francis (PA)
1 – Davies-Uniacke (NM)
Steve Larkin – AAP
3 – Butters (PA)
2 – Parker (NM)
1 – Powell-Pepper (PA)
Tom Rehn – FIVEaa
3 – Horne-Francis (PA)
2 – Butters (PA)
1 – Parker (NM)
Matt Turner – the Advertiser
3 – Butters (PA)
2 – Xerri (NM)
1 – Drew (PA)
Chris Dittmar – Triple M
3 – Xerri (PA)
2 – Butters (PA)
1 – Rozee (PA)
Past Winners:
2004: Josh Carr (Port Adelaide)
2005: Warren Tredrea (Port Adelaide)
2006: Brendon Lade (Port Adelaide)
2007: Chad Cornes (Port Adelaide)
2008: Kane Cornes (Port Adelaide)
2009: Lenny Hayes (St. Kilda)
2010: David Rodan (Port Adelaide)
2011: Michael Rischitelli (Gold Coast Suns)
2012: Josh Kennedy (Sydney)
2013: Hamish Hartlett (Port Adelaide)
2014: Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
2015: Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
2016: Joel Selwood (Geelong)
2017: Robbie Gray (Port Adelaide)
2018: Joel Selwood (Geelong)
2019: Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
2020: *not awarded – no ANZAC Round due to COVID-19 lockdown
2021: Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide)
2022: Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide)
2023: Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide)
2024: Willem Drew (Port Adelaide)
