PORT Adelaide star Zak Butters has been cleared of any wrongdoing for his bump on Western Bulldogs youngster Joel Freijah, meaning he is still in contention for the 2026 Brownlow Medal.

Butters ran past the ball and collected Freijah in the fourth quarter of Friday night's two-point loss to the Western Bulldogs, giving away a free kick.

Freijah was rattled but seemingly uninjured in the incident and played out the rest of the game.

The Match Review Officer ruled that Butters made "predominately body contact with Freijah" and has therefore not taken any action against the Port star.

"Based on all available evidence, it was the view of the MRO that any high contact to Freijah was negligible and as a result, Butters' actions did not constitute a reportable offence," the MRO said in a statement.

Had the MRO ruled that Butters had made high contact, it is likely the incident would have been graded intentional, low impact and high contact, which would have led to a one-game ban.

After eight rounds, Butters is sitting second in the race for the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award and equal seventh in AFL.com.au's Brownlow Predictor, but a ban would have made him ineligible for the Brownlow Medal.

Incident explained
"The incident involving Port Adelaide's Zak Butters and the Western Bulldogs' Joel Freijah from the Fourth Quarter of Friday night's match was assessed by the Match Review Officer. Freijah gets hands to a high handball that goes over his head whilst Butters approaches from side on. As Freijah lands, Butters elects to bump, making predominately body contact with Freijah. Based on all available evidence, it was the view of the MRO that any high contact to Freijah was negligible and as a result, Butters’ actions did not constitute a reportable offence. No further action was taken."