Butcher played both under-19s and reserves football for Geelong, but it was at Collingwood that he started his AFL career.
In round eight of the 1994 season, the rebounding defender would receive a Rising Star nomination for his 20 disposal game against St Kilda on the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
[1] An injury brought an end to his time at Collingwood and he was delisted, and was picked up by the Sydney Swans with the seventh selection of the 1996 Pre-season draft.
[2] He didn't play a senior AFL game for the Swans.
[1] Butcher, a former Grovedale player, would move back to Geelong, where he played and coached.