I have a big conundrum going on in my head when it comes to Butcher. He puts in a lot of effort, does all the one percenters etc. No one can have a go at him for any of that. But, his fundamentals are just terrible. There is no other way to describe it. When he came into the league back in 2010, the knocks on him were that he moved with great awkwardness, couldn't stay healthy, and didn't have a "footy brain" so to speak. Well, let's now go to 2015, almost 6 years since he was drafted at the end of 2009, and he still moves awkwardly, doesn't have a footy brain (Macca summed it up very well in the review thread) and is quite possibly the worst set shot for goal as a forward that this club has ever had. But hey, he's healthy now, only took 5 years to get that far (last year was his first uninterrupted pre-season).
As a fan, we all look at those fundamentals and can't help but think "it's going to click eventually, some coach is going to get it out of him. He does the little things, surely the coaches will get his kicking right." We are still saying this today. No coach to date has gotten it out of him.
There comes a point when enough is enough, time to pull the pin. He's been in the system long enough to have a proper crack. And frankly, had he not been a first rounder, had those 2 amazing games to start his career, and be on a very good long term contract, we would have given up on him at least 12-18 months ago. To me, he's not going to improve as a player. He is what he is. A guy who will give you his all, but is simply not good enough, nor reliable enough to put in our side. The only way I'd like him to remain on our list is if he gets delisted and re-rookied, earning the minimum.