Ollie Wines speaks on his Port Adelaide career, North Melbourne interest ahead of game 250
When Alastair Clarkson went public with a trade wishlist of experienced players, it thrust Ollie Wines’ name back into the spotlight. Now, the Port star has his say.
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North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson might want to add experience to his young group at Arden Street, but Ollie Wines says he is already doing that at Alberton and has no intention to leave Port Adelaide.
Almost 12 years after his name was read out by the Power with the seventh pick of the 2012 Draft, the 29-year-old will play his 250th game on Sunday against Fremantle at Optus Stadium.
It’s been a long road from Echuca, on the Victoria-New South Wales border, where as a child Wines would often call into Rex Hunt’s radio show to ask questions about his idol Andrew Walker.
But in some ways it feels like Wines has raced to the 250-game mark.
He has never played less than 12 matches in a season and is within six games of premiership captain Warren Tredrea who sits sixth on Port Adelaide’s all-time games list.
“It has gone by quick, I look on my career now and there have been a lot of games, teammates, up and downs along the way but really proud to get to 250,” he said.
“Probably when I think about it a little bit deeper, you can remember games and individual quarters from a while ago so it does feel like a long time ago in some ways and the place has changed a lot.
“We have been through developments, assistant coaches, players, so a lot has happened in that time but I am still loving what I am doing.”
Wines and his family were shocked when he was initially drafted to the Power and he has been forthright in his admissions that at the start of his move to Adelaide he battled homesickness.
“It is a well known story that myself and my family were pretty surprised to come to Port Adelaide, I had never been to Adelaide or South Australia and all of a sudden at 18 I was told I was moving interstate,” he said.
“So it was a big shock and probably where the club was at the time it was a lot for me to take in at the time but I couldn’t have been put in a better position to love what I do, to succeed and run out with my best mates every week so I am thankful for that day in 2012.
“I have loved it the whole time.”
Arguably none more so than the 2021 season, when Wines became the first Port Adelaide player to win the Brownlow Medal.
“I think so, and not so much from an individual perspective. In 2021 we had an outstanding year as a team and while we didn’t make a grand final me winning that reward was a reflection on what the team was able to do that year,” he said.
“I was in a position to get a lot of votes but as much as it was an individual recognition I feel that it was a team recognition and I am very proud of that year.”
There have been occasions where the pull of being closer to home could have resulted in Wines looking for a move back to Victoria.
The Kangaroos had been hoping the lure of Wines being a key part of mentoring their young team could potentially be a factor this off-season.
In an unprecedented move, Clarkson raised Wines along with Sydney’s Luke Parker and Dane Rampe, Melbourne’s Jack Viney and GWS’s Callan Ward as players the Roos would want to target in a radio interview.
Something from nothing from Ollie Wines, Port finally have their first goal.
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) April 30, 2022
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Wines had bad news for Clarkson when asked on Tuesday.
But he didn’t mind the public move.
“Certainly, I am signed on for another two years,” he said.
“I have been here for the long term and I am generally a pretty loyal person.
“So I love the teammates, my coaches and everything about this place.
“I have had opportunities to go back to Victoria in the past but the pull of this place, the fans and supporters is too strong.
“I think this is the time of year where that comes out and there will be coaches that do that over the next month and through trade period but I am fully entrenched here.
“It is (kind of unprecedented), but I think that is the change of dynamic in football we are changing like other sports and the more that stuff can come in I think the better it will be.”
The former co-captain and vice-captain said his experience was needed at Alberton helping young stars and leaders such as Connor Rozee, Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis.
“Yeah certainly, that has been what Darcy (Byrne-Jones) and I have really committed to this year helping Connor and Zak and those emerging leaders,” he said.
“You have seen the emergence of Connor and how he has led us this year, we have been pretty open to him and helping him out but he has been doing a lot of it off his own bat and we will continue to support him.”
On the field, Wines said he was getting back to playing consistent footy after tough 2022 and 2023 campaigns.
Part of this was down to constant injuries, but Wines was also figuring out his role in the new-look Power midfield.
“I certainly play a different role, you see the talent I have around me and what they can do so,” he said.
“I can just focus on the contest and being in and under and letting those guys bring their strengths out.
“So it is back to consistent footy doing what I need to do to contribute to this midfield.
“Compared to 2021 this midfield is more three or four dimensional, there are a lot of guys with a lot of weapons.
“Not so much, I think we all want to be the best we can so that hasn’t been an issue. It has been more adjusting to their style of play.
“Those guys are so dynamic and quick out of stoppage it has probably taken me a year and a bit to sort of adjust to that speed.
“At 29 I think I have been able to add that explosiveness to my game and not sit around too much at stoppage because you will be left behind by our mids.
“I have really loved that adjustment in our midfield.”
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