Butterworth quits the Cats
HAYDEN Butterworth has added to Geelong’s off-season woes, signing with rival club Footscray Edgewater.
Butterworth becomes the third high-profile player to leave the Cats ahead of the 2016-17 season, with gun batsman Meyrick Buchanan crossing to Melbourne and allrounder Andrew McDonald accepting the head coaching role at Victoria.
It means Geelong will be missing three of its top seven strokemakers when it begins its season against Monash Tigers on September 30.
Cats coach Andrew Borovec conceded the departure of Butterworth, who blasted 456 runs and claimed 23 wickets last season, was costly.
“It hurts big time because you lose a top-five batsman, and he can bat anywhere in that top five,” Borovec said.
“In the last 18 months he’s played that role of opening in white-ball cricket down to five in two-day cricket and a lot in between.
“The big standout last year in his game was his bowling. The fact that we didn’t have a frontline spinner meant we could bowl him a lot more and he stepped up well in that role.”
Borovec revealed Butterworth had been considering a move for some time, but signed with the Bulldogs only this month.
“We’d had conversations in the pre-season and it was certainly laid on the table that he was thinking about that as an option,” he said.
“As for which club, it wasn’t clear, but he was certainly thinking about moving on.
“So it wasn’t a complete shock, and we were still confident he would choose to remain at Geelong, but when the message comes and it’s not the one you want, there’s an element of disappointment.
“But at the same time, because he kept the conversation going, we could understand the reasons.”
Borovec said a fresh start was Butterworth’s main reason for leaving the Cats. “At this stage of his career he was looking to keep his Victorian chances afloat, while balancing his work life,” he said.
“He saw Footscray as a positive move as it would take him out of his comfort zone and into a new challenge, which will hopefully inject a breath of fresh air to his game.
“It was disappointing, absolutely no question of that . . . But like anything, it provides opportunity for someone else and that can be good in a playing group with a number of players vying for a spot.”
The Cats were also unsuccessful in their attempts to lure Englishman Richie Oliver.
“He’s going back to Geelong City this year,” Borovec said. “They’ve managed to shore up his visa, which was a contributing factor, but we’re still hopeful of securing him for next season.”