Zak Butters in classy act for Dane Rampe as Swans star escapes AFL grand final drama

Dane Rampe will be free to play the AFL grand final having only been fined from the Match Review Officer after he found support from Port Adelaide star Zak Butters in the Swans' victory. Rampe was one of the Swans' best in his 250th AFL game for the club as Sydney dominated Port Adelaide from start to finish in front of a roaring SCG crowd.

The 36-point win sends Sydney to their second final in three years where they could meet Geelong in a repeat of the 2022 grand final. However, some fans feel Rampe could have faced issues before next weekend after his elbow caught Zak Butters during the first quarter.

Rampe and Butters were contesting a ball when Rampe jumped and collided with the Port Adelaide star. There didn't appear too much in the collision, but Butters through his head back and stayed down. The umpire granted a free-kick to Port Adelaide for the incident.

Plenty of fans felt Rampe should be facing a suspension for the elbow, which would rule him out for the AFL grand final. Most felt there was not much in the contest. And it appears Butters has defended Rampe, which should see the Swans star avoid any controversy going forward.

Speaking after the game to ABC Radio, Rampe claimed he spoke to Butters after the game and the Port Adelaide star admitted there was nothing in the collision. They also shared a laugh over how it went down.

"It wasn't a big hit, mate. I spoke to Zak on the way out he was surprised he got a free kick," Rampe told the ABC after the game. "Genuinely not worried about that. I think he threw his head back a little bit he had a chuckle with me." Rampe only copped a fine for the incident and will play next week in the AFL grand final against the Lions.

Ken Hinkley hits back at critics after Port Adelaide loss

Hinkley has now lost the four preliminary finals he has coached as Port Adelaide manager and knows he will face more criticism in the off-season. However, he praised the Swans for their season and admitted the better team went through to the AFL grand final.

“Right now, it’s really disappointing, because we came up here with optimism (about) trying to qualify for a Grand Final — we know how hard that is to do,” Hinkley said in his post-match interview. “We, as a footy club more than any, know how hard it is to try and get through that final step. It’s disappointing.

“I thought, as a club, we stuck together pretty well through the whole year, and we have ourselves a chance again, right to this point of the season, and I understand the story will be around we failed to get there. I think we had a decent crack at it.”

When pushed on his record in the AFL finals, Hinkley said he was hoping to eventually shut down the critics. “Until you get through it (the preliminary final hurdle), you’ll always have some reflection pieces — I don’t know whether it’s doubt, but you have reflection pieces,” he added.

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“I’m not silly enough not to have the knowledge that I have been the constant along with some other people at the footy club — but it’s not a one-person (thing), we should stop that story a little bit. This is a whole-of-club thing that goes on, it’s not one person responsible. If we had have gotten through tonight, it wouldn’t have been me. And if we didn’t get through tonight, it’d be us, and I think that’s the language we like to use at Port.

“It’s about us, not me necessarily, but I do understand that as the head coach you cop the brunt of that. And I’m OK with copping the brunt, but the reality is you can’t do this without a full club — you just can’t."