Port Adelaide midfielder Ollie Wines looks back on the toughest moments of his 2019 season
He was vice-captain at 22, captain by 24 and going into 2019 was regarded as one of the hottest properties in the game. But that is where Ollie Wines’ dream run in the AFL hit a speed bump.
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The first meeting is inside an MG as Ollie Wines is driving around the streets of Adelaide.
It’s a sunny day in late February and the Port Adelaide star is front and square at a major sponsorship announcement. Car manufacturer MG Motors has come on board and part of the promotion has the players taking guests for a spin in the company’s latest set of wheels.
Wines is putting on a brave face. He’s three weeks post-operation from major shoulder surgery and in a desperate search for positives about his situation, he comes up with the fact that at least he’s back running already.
He had the same operation (on the other shoulder) this time last year which set off a series of events that culminated in 2019 being a lost season for the Power’s midfield general.
On top of the shoulder injury – which he did while waterskiing on Australia Day – Wines broke his leg and thumb which meant he appeared in just 12 games.
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And if you wanted some icing on this disastrous cake, he was also dumped from the co-captaincy role which ironically his childhood friend Jack Viney had recently suffered the same fate at Melbourne.
So how many black cats did he run over?
“I don’t know what I did. This one happened within days of when I did it last year, I almost put it on myself,” Wines explains.
“I remember leading into the training session saying, ‘I was in that sling last year, thank God I’m not in that sling again this year’.
“Then I put the shoulder into an incident where unfortunately it wasn’t going to hold up.
“It was in a fairly regular contest around a stoppage but just the position it ended up in, it was very vulnerable and not many shoulders would have been able to hold it.”
Wines’ career had seemingly been travelling at rocket-like speed. The No. 7 pick in the 2012 national draft played 24 games in his first season and then became the fastest player to 50 games in Port’s history.
He was vice-captain at 22, captain by 24 and regarded as one of the hottest properties in the game until he ignored overtures from back home in Victoria to sign a lucrative long-term deal with Port midway through 2018.
And then the calendar clicked over to 2019 …
“I guess in our profession, you’re going to get injuries now and then and I had a good run starting my career,” he says. “Now I’ve had a little hiccup and I guess you can only learn from them.
“It has been difficult, last year was particularly tough towards the end of the year. Getting back and then breaking the leg, getting back again, playing a few good games and then doing the thumb.
“Hopefully this year doesn’t turn out like that.”
CORONA POSITIVE
THE second meeting is over the phone. Almost two months have passed since he played chauffeur around the City of Churches.
He’s now 660km away from Adelaide, back home in Echuca, self-isolating with his parents and younger brother Harry.
The world is a very different place, a global pandemic has changed everyone’s lives forever but from a purely football perspective it’s thrown Wines an unexpected lifeline.
He’s gone from potentially missing half-a-season to missing just one game.
“As selfish as that sounds, in terms of my football it’s a bonus,” he says.
“Obviously there are devastating things going on in the world at the moment and the world is suffering great loss.
“But I guess individually football-wise I’ll probably not miss any games when football resumes.”
He had been planning on making a return in the SANFL over the Easter weekend which might have been pushing the envelope.
But now the conservative 12-week specialist’s recovery time period has elapsed which means when the AFL season gets the green light to start again, Wines will be as ready as any of his teammates.
And unlike some of his counterparts who’ve struggled in isolation, Wines has thrived.
“I joke that this is how I live my life anyway. I’m pretty isolated normally, I don’t like going out and doing too much socially.
“In particular when I come back to Echuca I don’t leave the house too often so I’m not finding it too difficult other than obviously missing footy.”
A tennis court, swimming pool and large garden on the Wines’ villa certainly helps the isolation program.
Tennis has become the main fitness tool with some intense matches between the brothers.
“We used to have tennis lessons from about ever since we could pick up a racquet so if I don’t mind saying so myself, we’re pretty handy at tennis and every afternoon for usually an hour or hour-and-a-half we hit the court,” he says.
“It gets pretty competitive, we play a winner game so it’s first to 10 winners. We’re not too fussed about unforced errors, we like the big shots and to hit the winners.”
So who’s got bragging rights?
“I’m the big hitter so my winners are a bit more attractive than his, he’s more about the crosscourt slice.”
The local footy oval is getting a regular workout with Harry and his father, Tony, able assistants.
“Dad came down to the oval the other day and made us bring down six footballs for some reason, I think he thought we were doing a full-on training session but we were just having a kick.”
He’s in contact with his teammates via Zoom or on PlayStation most days. Studying has also helped pass the time with the 25-year-old in the middle of a building design course at TAFE.
But there is one of Wines’ loves which has been curtailed by the coronavirus … flying.
FLYING HIGH
Winning a premiership for Port Adelaide is at the top of Ollie Wine’s life goals but not far behind it is flying a plane from Adelaide to Echuca.
His passion for aviation comes from his uncle who is a pilot and he got into taking flying lessons several years ago through former teammate Angus Monfries.
“The goal has always been to fly back to Echuca,” he says. “I haven’t done that yet, there’s a nice little airport out there where I could land and mum and dad can come and pick me up.”
Engines, whether it be cars, boats or planes, have always interested him and he finds the solitude of being 5000 feet in the air flying through the clouds as a good way to “switch off” from the AFL world.
“It’s relaxing to a point, I mean I’ve obviously seen the recent crashes. It does worry me at times but a lot of it is human error,” he says.
“I know the aerodynamics of the plane, I know if anything goes wrong, like engine failure, the good thing about my plane is that it is so light so if anything happens at 3000 or 4000 feet I’ve got five minutes to find somewhere to land.
“I’ve never had anything like that happen although with my two-seater, you sit on the runway and can shake it which can get you thinking, ‘How am I going up in this thing?’.”
He’s just begun the long process of upgrading his recreational pilot licence so he can fly bigger planes and into controlled air spaces which would allow him to land at airports such as Essendon and Moorabbin.
His teammates are keen to utilise his services in the future and Wines hasn’t ruled out looking at a commercial pilot’s licence, following in the footsteps of former Geelong and North Melbourne player Leigh Colbert.
“The boys love fishing and there are a few islands off Adelaide where they want to go and they’re always saying I should do that for them.
“It would be good to take a little Cessna with four seats and a bit of a gear in the back so that’s something I want to make happen soon.
“As for post-career, I’ve thought about it. The reality is it’s a big step up with a fair amount of work and it’s a hard industry to get into.”
WINGS CLIPPED
OLLIE Wines gets it. If he didn’t believe in Tom Jonas as much as he does then it might be an even harder pill to swallow.
When the Port Adelaide board decided they wanted a stand-alone captain for its 150th season in 2020, a choice had to be made between Wines and Jones who’d shared the role in 2019 after Travis Boak decided to step aside after six years in the job.
“It’s a big responsibility and perhaps for me at this stage I probably just have to get my body right and consistency in playing games and not be worrying about other things week in week out,” he says.
“I’m going to play the same way, I’m going to lead the same way, it’s just I’m not wearing the No. 1 on my back.”
Wines will remain as vice-captain along with Hamish Hartlett supporting Jonas who he believes will develop into an outstanding leader.
“I know what type of bloke Tom Jonas is. I know what type of leader he is and right now he is the right man for the job.
“I’ve said it all along, if there was someone who I didn’t think was competent to take it on or didn’t have the capabilities to lead us and lead myself, well, I would be a bit annoyed.
“I don’t think I have ever seen someone like him, how he leads on the field and off it and what he does for his players. I definitely think they made the right decision for us.
“I want to, like everyone on our list and everyone at our club, I want to win a premiership and this is the best thing to do to help us win one.”
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His demotion certainly caught the attention of a number of Melbourne clubs who ever since he was drafted have dreamt about luring the powerhouse midfielder home to Victoria.
During last year’s trade period there was talk Wines’ management had spoken with Carlton.
“Being a Victorian it’s always going to be there,” Wines says. “At this stage I’m contracted for this season and another two seasons. What happens after that, I’ll get to that bridge when it comes.
“At this stage I’m really happy with this football club, I do still battle at times being away from home as all of my siblings live together in Melbourne.
“Mum and Dad often go down there for dinner and at times I feel like I’m missing out on those things but a football career is a short one.
“I have to get out of it what I can in a short period of time. I just want to win a premiership with these boys and I think we’ve got a pretty good chance at it this year.”
Originally published as Port Adelaide midfielder Ollie Wines looks back on the toughest moments of his 2019 season
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