Ollie Wines scoffs at North Melbourne trade talk, set for off-season heart surgery

Ollie Wines has missed games of footy because of issues with his heart, and the Brownlow winner is set to address those issues in the off-season, but insists he’s right to go.

HOBART, AUSTRALIA – MAY 25: Ollie Wines of the Power in action during the 2024 AFL Round 11 match between the North Melbourne Kangaroos and Yartapuulti (Port Adelaide) at Blundstone Arena on May 25, 2024 in Hobart, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Ollie Wines will undergo an off-season procedure to fix the heart palpitations that have forced the Port Adelaide midfielder to be substituted out of games.

The veteran has twice been subbed out of games – most recently in the round 10 win over Hawthorn – with an irregular heartbeat.

Wines confirmed he was “100 per cent fine” now, having played the following two games before the Power’s round 13 bye.

“It’s something that, fortunately, having spoken to a lot of experts and had a lot of appointments about it, is an isolated incident that does happen occasionally,” he said.

Ollie Wines has scoffed at suggestions he could head to North Melbourne. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“Obviously the two times it has occurred has been in the middle of football games and it’s a little bit hard to hide away from that. (But) fortunately for me it’s not life-threatening, it’s just something that effects me playing at 100 per cent.

“We’ve got some contingency plans in place (for me) to get through to the end of the season, and there’s some things we can do at the end of the season to fix it.

“There’s procedures that can fix it, it’s a very short recovery that don’t involve too much, so that’s something that, once the end of the season comes, we’ll do then.”

While Wines is focused on his football, rumours have swirled about his future, with pundits linking the midfielder with North Melbourne. But Wines scoffed at the suggestion he would move clubs, instead declaring he wanted to retire as a Power player.

“I haven’t heard anything about that – it could be all gospel in the media – but I’ve got two years left at Port Adelaide,” he said.

“I’m a Port Adelaide player through and through, and I’m here for the rest of my career and that’s that. I love this club and hopefully I retire here.”

Originally published as Ollie Wines scoffs at North Melbourne trade talk, set for off-season heart surgery