Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley opens up to Mark Robinson about Ollie Wines, Port’s recruits and season 2024
Jason Horne-Francis joined Travis Boak in the off-season on the same trip Connor Rozee and Zak Butters took the year before. Could this US trip be the making of another Port gun?
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Brownlow medallist Ollie Wines was never a wingman, nor really a half-forward.
Yet that’s where he was largely bundled off to in 2023 for multiple reasons.
One was his form, after an injury-hit pre-season.
The other was the emergence in the midfield of a trio of dambusters named Zak Butters, Connor Rozee and to a lesser extent Jason Horne-Francis – plus a dam plugger named Willem Drew.
That’s about to change.
“He will play inside mid and he will stay inside mid,’’ Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley declared of 29-year-old Wines.
Hinkley said it with conviction, a confidence in his bull-like midfielder that he didn’t harbour at the start of last season.
A knee injury had wrecked Wines’ pre-season and he played catch-up after that without actually catching up.
“His issue last year was really simple and really clear, he was underprepared to play the level he had set,’’ Hinkley said.
“He did his absolute best to hang in there and by the end we had the emergence of Horne-Francis, who had come to the club, and Rozee and Butters had to get more midfield time.
“By his own admission, Ollie wasn’t at his best. Right now, he’s in really good shape, he hasn’t missed.
“I’ll say this: Ollie also is somebody who needs to train consistently at a really high level. He’s a footballer who’s had to work at every bit of his game. He hasn’t been a natural footballer if you look at him. He’s done it on his size, his presence, his will – and his will is to be a great player still.’’
Hinkley fielded countless questions about Wines’ footy last year, which annoyed him because it was widely known the 2021 Brownlow Medal winner had carried a knee injury.
He thinks the persistent, negative commentary about his former skipper would have also grated the player
“It would’ve hurt, but it was unfair and we do judge him off a Brownlow Medal,’’ Hinkley said.
“That’s’ the best player in the game in any one year, so that’s a high level he’s trying to live up to.
“And when you’re under prepared … and as I said before, he’s a player who needs to consistently train.’’
Port Adelaide’s starting midfield for round 1 is likely to be recruit Ivan Soldo in the ruck, with two of Butters, Rozee and Horne-Francis and a resurgent Wines.
As they say, it is well stacked.
While Rozee and Butters are already A graders – and the new captain and vice-captain – the watch will be Horne-Francis.
At 20, he’s the wildcard.
He didn’t train until February last year but hasn’t missed a beat this time around.
Not unlike walk-up Hall of Famer Patty Dangerfield at a young age, Horne-Francis wants to do everything at speed and with explosion.
When he adds calmness to his furious mind, he will be an even better player.
He certainly will have a better understanding of the game and his body, having joined veteran Travis Boak at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Centre in Salzburg, Austria, in the off-season.
The year before, Boak took Butters and Rozee.
Hinkley smiled when asked about Horne-Francis, yet wouldn’t play hype games.
“He’s still learning the game,’’ he said.
Drew’s midfield minutes look set to be squeezed.
In 2023, he played as a defensive mid to offset the young playmakers and sometimes played in a stoppage role.
That was a critical piece that Hinkley – unlike other coaches – has added to his midfield mix.
Drew’s shutdown roles included Marcus Bontempelli in round 5, Nick Daicos in round 19, Jordan Dawson in round 20 and Lachie Neale in the qualifying final.
Port was beaten badly by the Lions, but Drew kept Neale to 16 disposals.
“Drew can play anywhere from inside to wing,’’ Hinkley said.
Tag again?
“We’ll move with the pieces we’ve got,” he said.
“We’re lucky because we’ve got three younger boys who all have capabilities forward of the ball and they’ve all got capabilities outside of the ball.’’
The high-octane feel is ever-present when you consider Port has six mid-sized halfbacks who also like to gallop.
The two wing spots are perhaps the problem children for Hinkley.
Drew looks likely to take one of them, while veteran Boak – who was one of Port’s best players in the second final last year – along with Miles Bergman and 2021 first-round draftee Josh Sinn will be offered the opportunity to own the other wing.
There will be a new ruck – or two – in the team with the arrival of Soldo and Jordon Sweet, while youngster Dante Visentini will be itching to pay.
“We’re not planning on running one or two rucks,” Hinkley said.
“Normally, we play one ruck, but Charlie (Dixon) is 33, and both Ivan and Visentini can go forward and impact the game. Sweety is a bit more of a traditional ruckman so that opens the door for us to look at different option.’’
There’s a problem – Port is tall heavy, which means Dixon’s position in the team is a focus of discussion.
Put it this way, Ollie Lord (13 games) held Port together late last year and has earnt a crack early this season.
Jeremy Finlayson was on track for All-Australian selection midway through last season before falling away, but his best makes him a starting 23 player.
Then Todd Marshall looks to be the No. 1 key forward.
If the two rucks is the option, Dixon’s position as the forward-ruck is obsolete, even more so if Finlayson is rucking and rolling.
So, who misses?
“Whoever wins,’’ Hinkley said.
Like all teams, there’s boundless enthusiasm at the club.
They were beaten in straight sets last year after winning 13 consecutive games.
True, too many key players were “cooked’’ by September – Scott Lycett, Dixon, Marshall and Trent McKenzie for example – but footy doesn’t always welcome excuses.
Hinkley thinks the straight sets defeats are a learning experience.
“I can reflect on how we felt out of 2021 when we had the really bad prelim to what it felt like last year … and I think the group has a better understanding of the game and what needs to go right for you,’’ he said.
That said, the style won’t change too much.
“We train incredibly hard to allow us to play a high-octane game, whether it be on offence or whether it be in the contest,’’ Hinkley said.
“But everyone now plays like that.
“I think last year we were ranked No. 1 for corridor ball use and I think every team in the competition is chasing that this year.’’
KEN HINKLEY ON WHAT HE HAS LEARNT ABOUT THE NEW RECRUITS …
Esava Ratugolea: “We knew he was a big strong presence, but he’s really powerful. He can play on an explosive small forward and that surprised me a little bit, because he can keep up.’’
Jordon Sweet: “He’s got really nice hands and ruck craft. He’s desperate to get a go. He’s got Josh Carr (assistant coach) in his corner, who coached him in the North Adelaide premiership.’’
Brandon Zerk-Thatcher: “He’s got a willingness to play an aggressive defensive position. He always looked like he was a lockdown defender from a distance.”
Ivan Soldo: “He’s a really good person to know. His Croatian background, he’s got an attitude that you love when you get to know him. He’s got a great understanding of the game for a bloke who came from a soccer background, he’s worked his butt off (and) the people at Richmond say he is a really good bloke and he is a really good bloke.’’
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Originally published as Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley opens up to Mark Robinson about Ollie Wines, Port’s recruits and season 2024
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