EARLIER this year, there were whispers among the Port Adelaide faithful about the future of up-and-coming midfield general Ollie Wines.
The 21-year-old Victorian – the No. 7 pick in the 2012 draft – was always going to attract plenty of interest from clubs in his home state if he wanted to move.
Wines ended speculation in February when he signed a contract extension with the Power until the end of 2018.
"I didn't sign it because I felt any pressure or I didn't want it coming up, I just didn't really want the supporters thinking I'd leave and go somewhere else,'' Wines told AFL.com.au.
"It came to a point where the supporters were worrying a bit too much.
"When I would see fans at functions and at training sessions, they were always asking me.
"Our fans are pretty special to us, they turn out in their droves every game and they come to training, so I wanted to repay the faith and all the support they give to myself and my teammates.''
In a two-team city like Adelaide where the appetite for footy news is unrelenting, any contract uncertainty is magnified.
Wines continues to improve in his fourth season, averaging career-highs in possessions (25 per game) and tackles (5.8) to go with 12.5 contested possessions, which has always been the strength of his game.
''I've done a bit more work on my outside game, picking up some handball receives and getting out of the contest a little bit better,'' Wines said.
''They're both a work in progress, I don't think I'll ever be happy where I'm at.''
Sitting 10th on the ladder with a 5-5 record, the Power could easily be 7-3 and in the top eight if not for narrow losses to Carlton (by two points) and West Coast (eight points).
That's despite getting dominated in the ruck while they're without Matthew Lobbe, who will miss up to another nine weeks with a knee injury, and Patrick Ryder, who is serving a season-long doping ban.
''In previous years, having Patty and Lobbes, we've been given pretty good first use of the ball,'' Wines said.
"The first few rounds we kept going with that even though we were losing the hitouts, which made us pretty vulnerable.
''From the midfield perspective, it's been a really good mindset change to almost conceding the ruck and fighting for the ball at ground level.
''It's brought us midfielders closer.''
Sunday's match against Collingwood is the Power's second and final game at the MCG this season.
They are aiming for a perfect record after beating Richmond by 35 points in round six.
"Every ground is different, so there's a level of coming to terms with how a ground plays,'' Wines said.
''The main game (the grand final) is played there so it's good to get a good feel for the 'G', but we don't see it as a disadvantage playing two games there.
''We see it as an advantage that we get to play at Adelaide Oval 12 times.''
