Port Adelaide co-captain Ollie Wines recovery from shoulder surgery is ahead of schedule

Port Adelaide leader Ollie Wines was set to miss the first part of the season after injuring his shoulder waterskiing but is ahead of schedule in his recovery, says his co-captain Tom Jonas.

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Port Adelaide co-captain Ollie Wines could be back as soon as Round 1 as his recovery from a waterskiing accident is ahead of schedule.

Wines, who hurt his shoulder over summer, was expected to miss the first few weeks of the season to his injury, which divided the football public over what activities players undertake during their holidays.

But Power co-captain Tom Jonas revealed at The Advertiser Foundation AFL season launch on Wednesday that Wines is ahead of schedule and could play as soon as Round 1, when the Power face Melbourne at the MCG on March 23.

Ollie Wines at Port Adelaide training last week. Picture: Keryn Stevens

“He’s pushing for Round 1, which would be a really good result,” Jonas said. “If not, it won’t be long after that.”

The Power is also waiting for key forward Charlie Dixon, who is recovering from breaking his leg late last year.

But Jonas said there was no need to rush either player, with others getting a chance to develop in their absence.

“It would be great to have Ollie and Charlie out there but at the same time we’ve gone without them for the past couple of weeks,” Jonas said.

“It’s been a great opportunity to blood some young boys, put a bit more responsibility on them. They’ve really stood up to it.

“If we get a couple of wins without those boys (Wines and Dixon), which I think we can, that will just go a long way to strengthen the team down the track.

“But it has been frustrating for Charlie and tough at times.

“I think you find that with big units that get injured — it’s not all straightforward with their recovery. But he’ll get there.”

Meanwhile, Crows midfielder-forward Hugh Greenwood is confident his abdominal injury is behind him after recovering well from a practice match in the SANFL.

But he said it would not be easy to break into the side this year, with the midfield stacked after Brad Crouch’s successful return.

Greenwood tipped it would mean a year as a utility for him, with time both on the ball and in attack.

“It’s been pretty frustrating — two steps forward and one step back throughout the pre-season,” Greenwood said. “But I sat down with the medical crew and I’ve done twice as much as I did this time last year so I’m in a much better position.

“I got a game under my belt last week in the SANFL and got through pretty well.

“Guys are flying at the moment so spots are tough to get but we’ll see what happens in the next week or so.

“But it’s a tough side to crack into.

“I spent a lot of time in the midfield last year but once the cavalry returned last year, ‘Crouchy’ (Matt Crouch) and ‘Sloaney’ (Rory Sloane) and those guys came back I played mostly as a forward at the end of last year.

“Whether it’s forward or pinch hitting through the mid, I just want to get a game.”

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