Ollie Wines ensured his next contract will be worth even more after dominating against Richmond
AT the start of Round 12 Ollie Wines was worth plenty. By the end of it he was worth even more. But just how deep into their pockets will the Power need to go to sign him?
Port Adelaide
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OUT-of-contract Port Adelaide midfielder Ollie Wines has ramped up his value after being awarded the full allotment of coaches’ votes in the Power’s win against Richmond.
Wines received the perfect 10 votes from coaches Ken Hinkley and Damien Hardwick after chalking up 29 disposals in a man-of-the-match contribution.
But it wasn’t just about how much of the ball he had; it was about him getting back to his physical best and playing with some self-assurance.
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Wines at his best is a bull in the middle alongside Sam Powell-Pepper — who, incidentally polled four votes from the coaches — and it is when he imposes himself on the contest that he catches the eye.
His career-high 12 tackles stood out, as did his seven clearances and 16 contested disposals, but it was more about his relenting attack on the ball and his opponents.
Wines has given every indication he will stay with the club next season and coach Ken Hinkley has never doubted he will remain at Alberton.
What a performance like this does, though, is drive up interest from other clubs and improve his market value.
Port Adelaide is confident of regaining Wines’ signature on another contract but it is now a matter of length of tenure and appropriate remuneration.
Wines is at the opposite end of the spectrum to the Crows’ vice-captain Rory Sloane, whose foot injury has come at the worst time when his manager is considering contract offers from other clubs while also negotiating with Adelaide.
There are now question marks over whether Sloane will return to be the player who has been one of the Crows’ most durable and resilient players on the list.
Wines, in contrast, used perfect timing to bring out his A-game and remind the football world of his value.
“I’m really comfortable Ollie Wines will stay at Port Adelaide,” Hinkley told Melbourne radio. “I’m potentially going to sound stupid, but I’m 100 per cent certain Ollie Wines will be at Port Adelaide next year.
“He has every right to take his time to make the decision — he has always been really thoughtful of his family.
“I have no doubt that at some stage if Ollie chooses to go back to Melbourne, it won’t be for any other reason other than his family, which is the most important thing in his life.”
2018 AFLCA CHAMPION LEADERBOARD
51 Nat Fyfe, Fremantle
47 Steele Sidebottom, Collingwood
46 Patrick Cripps, Carlton
45 Trent Cotchin, Richmond
45 Max Gawn, Melbourne
42 Jack Darling, West Coast
40 Jack Macrae, Western Bulldogs
40 Tom Mitchell, Hawthorn
37 Andrew Gaff, West Coast
37 Brodie Grundy, Collingwood
35 Shaun Higgins, North Melbourne
35 Dustin Martin, Richmond
35 Callum Sinclair, Sydney
34 Rory Laird, Adelaide
32 Gary Ablett, Geelong
31 Ben Brown, North Melbourne
31 Jesse Hogan, Melbourne
31 Luke Parker, Sydney
30 Ben Cunnington, North Melbourne
30 Tom Phillips, Collingwood
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