Port Adelaide coach Josh Carr reckons he's already been in the ear of in-demand Zak Butters enough.
For Carr, there's not much else he can say to convince the man with the AFL's most sought-after signature to remain at Port beyond this season.
"I have been in his ear enough, I reckon. I don't think he needs me in his ear at all," Carr told reporters on Friday.
Butters, who falls off-contract at season's end, will play his 150th AFL match when the Power host Carlton at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
The Victorian-born star will then return to Darley, northwest of Melbourne, over the club's bye the following weekend to discuss his future with family.
Butters is being chased by Victorian clubs, with the Western Bulldogs, Geelong and Hawthorn considered frontrunners should he decide to depart Port.
Carr said he was "super impressed" at Butters' continued on-field excellence amid the off-field speculation.
"He plays the game one way, he trains one way, he only knows one way to play footy," Carr said.
"He has been a pleasure to coach.
"My experience with him as midfield coach, growing with him over the last few years, and then seeing the player that he is now - credit to him, and the footy club as well, in the development of him."
Butters on Wednesday told of the emotion surrounding his looming decision while praising the impact of Carr, in his first year as head coach after a long stint as an assistant.
"I have approached him the way that we're doing as the football club: that the culture is great for everyone to be around," Carr said.
"We want to be here specifically for Zak. It's about the team, it's about him enjoying his football here and him enjoying the people around him."
Carr said the dynamic 25-year-old on-baller had been a huge part of building that culture.
"He's a leader of our football club and the culture that everyone has created," he said.
"It's not about just me as a coach or us coaches. It's about the football club - it's upstairs, downstairs, and the environment that we create together."
