AFL: Port Adelaide confirms Ollie Wines role as recruits force Tom Clurey shift to wing
Port Adelaide’s wing spots were a “revolving door” in 2023, but the Power is giving an unlikely veteran a chance to stake his claim. MATT TURNER has all the details from Power training.
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The battle for Port Adelaide wing spots has taken a surprise twist as long-time key defender Tom Clurey joins a queue that will no longer include Brownlow Medallist Ollie Wines.
While Wines is set to return to the midfield full-time after a year regularly playing wing, the arrivals of Geelong’s Esava Ratugolea and Essendon’s Brandon Zerk-Thatcher have prompted the Power to shift Clurey to the edge of the centre square.
Clurey, who played just once at AFL level last year and explored a trade, only to remain at Alberton, was training on a wing this summer and lined up there in Friday’s match simulation.
Wines’s shift back into the engine room and the departure of Xavier Duursma to Essendon opens the door for Burgoyne, Josh Sinn, Jackson Mead, Hugh Jackson or Clurey to secure a spot on the opposite wing to veteran Travis Boak.
Goldsack said the wing position had been a “revolving door” that the team “didn’t quite nail” last year but Wines would rarely play there this coming season.
Wines attended just 50 per cent of centre bounces in 2023, down from 71 per cent the previous campaign and 74 per cent when he won the Brownlow in 2021.
“If we put more people into that (wing) role early in the pre-season and give them a few months to work out what to do, we’ll get a pretty good product,” Goldsack said.
“We thought we’d give Tom the time to try out the wing and see if it works for him and he’s doing some good stuff up there.
“If he was just to be a tall defender, we’re probably starving him of opportunities where he could otherwise get a game.
“If Ollie has to chop out on a wing, then he’ll do that but we’re prioritising inside mid.
“If we can get that really sharp, it’ll be better for us.”
Goldsack was promoted in November from SANFL coach to oversee the defence, just a few weeks after the club traded for Ratugolea and Zerk-Thatcher to address its undersized backline, coming off a straight-sets finals exit.
The Collingwood premiership player said 197cm Ratugolea and 195cm Zerk-Thatcher not only made the Power more flexible but suited its attacking style of defending.
“Whether that’s positioning or the freedom or confidence to go after the ball in the air, we probably lacked that a little bit last year,” Goldsack said.
“They give us that extra height, their one-on-one stuff is good and are holding their own and some.
“We played some players last year – (Ryan) Burton, (Miles) Bergman and (Dan) Houston – in positions where they were in a mismatch where we lost their weapons because they were playing key roles for us.
“Now we think we can unlock them to do what they do best.”
Goldsack it was unlikely Port would play Ratugolea, Zerk-Thatcher, Aliir and Trent McKenzie in the same defence.
“In today’s game to have four genuine talls, I think you starve yourself of offensive opportunities and ball use,” he said.
Goldsack said a major focus since taking over the role was ensuring the backline was more ruthless on each other and the whole team was on the same page when it defended.
Port Adelaide’s backline had retained Bergman, who Goldsack was “pretty keen to keep”.
In other notes from Friday:
■ Key defender Trent McKenzie was absent, though not because of an injury setback.
McKenzie, who had ankle surgery post-season, resumed full training earlier this week, then on Friday had his brother’s wedding.
■ Goldsack expected Kane Farrell, Burton or Houston to take the majority of the kick-ins for the Power this year.
■ Todd Marshall (hip surgery) reintegrated into the main group on Wednesday but sat out match simulation on Friday, while fellow forward Mitch Georgades (knee) spent the day running as he continued his build-up towards a potential round 1 return.
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Originally published as AFL: Port Adelaide confirms Ollie Wines role as recruits force Tom Clurey shift to wing
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