OLLIE Wines portrays all anyone would ask of a captain. He lives the philosophy there is no "I" in team. He wants to put his body on the line when so many questions are left about Port Adelaide's mettle in the contest during AFL finals.

He is selfless. He is dedicated. He is ambitious. He is loyal.

And Wines will sacrifice himself for the betterment of his team and his club.

For those with literary degrees, Wines would garner the same tribute American poet Walt Whitman wrote of US president Abraham Lincoln more than 200 years ago. O Captain! My Captain!

After three years - the first as a dual captain with Tom Jonas - as skipper or acting captain, Wines starts AFL Season 2024 as a soldier again, this time marching to the beat of a young leadership duo of Connor Rozee and his lieutenant Zak Butters.

In a way, Wines - after a challenging season last year when his return from knee surgery was wrecked by a meaningless preparation during the summer - is liberated. His focus can be singularly on his football; on himself. But that isn't Wines, is it? 

The mood for change at Alberton was cast at Wines' exit meeting in September after Port Adelaide's top-four finish was wasted with a straight-sets exit in finals with losses to Brisbane and Greater Western Sydney.

But - true to Wines' keeping the "I" out of team - the 29-year-old midfielder had earlier asked himself of what was best for Port Adelaide while watching Tom Jonas close his AFL career.

"I spoke to 'TJ' late in the year before I spoke to (senior coach) Ken (Hinkley)," Wines recalls. "But the exit meeting was where we really zeroed in on it and discussed it a bit closer.

"It was always the right call. I had to get myself right and back to playing the best football I can. Connor is taking this club forward. He is the next leader along with Butters and these boys. They are ones who will be leading the charge to this premiership."

Some might argue that after three challenging years as dual or acting captain, Wines deserved at least one, perhaps two, seasons as Port Adelaide captain in his own right.

"You can think you deserve stuff," says Wines. "But our club is an unselfish club. You have to put yourself behind the team.

"There might have been a little bit of reluctance (to conceding the captaincy) at first, maybe because of the boys' age and being a bit young (Rozee is 24, Butters is 23).

"But the more I spoke to Ken and then 'TJ', the more I understood it. The priority is to get myself back to playing my best football and taking that stress or responsibility away, so I can play at my best.

"Connor has demonstrated early in his career that he is a tremendous leader. He is a really good role model for the younger players coming through and even seeing his development this summer - and his development into the captain who will lead this club - has been real pleasing."

Wines is liberated, but not ignoring his responsibility to lead when without title.

"I had that conversation with Ken straight away," says Wines. "I said, 'I am going to be who I am'. That is ingrained in my DNA. I am keen to help Connor and Zak wherever I can. I told Ken I am going to continue to help out. I will continue to be a presence in the group. I will speak up. I will help guys. Ken is all for that. I will offer up any advice I can as 'TJ' and (former captain Travis) Boak have done. They have a good bunch of mature leaders around them, to really help them out."

PREPARED AGAIN 

TIME does fly. This is Wines' 12th season at Port Adelaide after he was called to Alberton from Victoria as the No.7 pick in the 2012 AFL national draft.

In contrast to last season, Wines is prepared for the rigours of a demanding AFL campaign. He has made it through a pre-season unscathed.

"And that certainly is important for me," says the midfielder universally described as a "bull". "I am not a player who is naturally gifted with skill. I am not Robbie Gray, Zak Butters-type in terms, and Connor Rozee as well, with what they can do with the ball, skill wise.

"So, I need to work hard during the summer to get continuity in my game. I have to remember how to play football - get good patterns and good routines and good habits going. It gives me a lot of confidence when I am able to do that during the pre-season and go into round one having done everything. I am looking forward to it after a good summer."

This is a total contrast to last year when Wines went from the operating theatre to the rehab room for a seemingly eternal recovery.

"My first actual session (in 2023) was the intraclub," Wines recalls. "I came off (knee) surgery not able to walk for six weeks. By the time I had returned to running, post-Christmas, I had a stress fracture in that (left) leg just from having so much time off. That set me back another eight weeks until the intraclub which my first equivalent of a training session.

"I was just trying to catch up from there. And I then went into round one having played the pre-season games (against West Coast and Fremantle),  but still very underdone and without the time in my legs I need as a player. It was not an ideal preparation and then from there I was trying to make up for what I missed. It is very hard during an AFL season when you don't get a lot of time during the week for training - it is all about recovery and the next game. It was difficult."

It is not just the physical advantage Wines has given himself by a solid body of work during the summer. The only interruption in the pre-season - a minor one - was an operation to clear a bit of cartilage from a toe with no cost to Wines' training schedule.

"Mentally, I am really confident in what I am able to do," Wines said. "I am confident with how I have been training.

"My body is 100 per cent better. I am as confident in my body as I have been throughout my career. We always hear the doctor say some things take time. My knee took time. I am 12 months on from that surgery now; I don't feel any pain. I have full confidence in everything.

ROLE PLAY 

WHERE will Wines fit in this 2024 Port Adelaide line-up? The build of the younger Port Adelaide midfield with Rozee, Butters and Jason Horne-Francis allows Ken Hinkley to use the 2021 Brownlow Medallist in the role that best suits Wines.

"My normal role," says the 228-game Wines. "The inside contested player who takes a bit of a beating; physical inside when we need it to be. Winning clearances out to the other guys.

"Our midfield group is really well made up of different skills and different skill sets. My role is to take a bit of a beating for these other boys so they can do what they can do. I am back in the midfield and looking forward to that.

"I like the physical contest. I love going one-on-one; winning contested ball. It is a real one-on-one physical battle with your opponent. I have done that my whole football career. It is something I take pride in. I hate losing those one-on-one battles.

"I am not trying to be an outside flashy player doing those things. My role for me is very simple and very clear. I am back to 2021 and that was how I had so much success. It was so clear to me. Kenny spelled it out to me about what I need to do: that contested player inside. Take a bit of beating for these other boys."

Those games on a wing will not go to waste. Wines has a greater appreciation of what is needed to succeed on the flanks of the midfield - and his part in helping Miles Bergman, Jase Burgoyne, Jackson Mead and others develop in an increasingly critical role to the Port Adelaide game.

"It was certainly frustrating," says Wines in reflecting on his time as an outside player, "but I understood the reasons for why I was out there.

"Our wings are so important for our team defence and what we are able to do particularly in the back half of the ground. At times the wings will sacrifice what we do to work for the team game. At times, you can have quiet games out there - and naturally from the positions I have played, you generally get a bit of the ball and at times it can be frustrating (to touch the Sherrin less). It was interesting. It was not ideal for where I wanted to play. I can't say I loved being out there. I understood why I was out there. I had a role to play for the team. I look on that year and I did learn a lot about how the wings play and what they have to do. I am sure I will be able to implement that as we go."

NEW ENGINE

WINES has new ruckmen to read - Ivan Soldo from Richmond and Jordon Sweet from the Western Bulldogs.

The engine at Alberton has been recharged with new pistons.

"Last year," notes Wines, "was the first big change of our midfield for a fair while - Butters, Rozee came in and JHF and it changed the dynamic of our midfield and how we move the ball. And how we exit stoppage.

"Look at the diverse talents we have. You look at all the guys who go through there. We have five or six guys who can go through centre bounce and they all bring a good skill set whether it be their agility or power and strength or their hands.

"With the ruckmen we have brought in their tapwork and follow up we have a wide array of talent and skills to go in there. The opposition will not see one combination of mids and ruckmen for some time. We will be able to change it up and keep the opponent guessing. The boys have learned each other's skills. And we want to exploit each other's skills and bring the best out of each other. 

"I have had a pre-season working with those guys and understanding the little details on how they like to do things. It has been a lot different from the past. These guys are so dynamic and agile that they don't need use hands to get out of stoppage. I am getting used to that; getting used to playing with them has been really beneficial as well."

Long-serving AFL coach Ross Lyon says "let the cobblers do the cobbling" to emphasise role play in the game. So does this new Port Adelaide midfield focus on loading up their forwards better or scoring themselves?

"We can hit the scoreboard as mids more," answers Wines. "In saying that, Butters, Rozee and Horne-Francis have done that really well. Last year, they were able to hit the scoreboard at times.

"What we have worked on the most is our connection with the forwards. We have explored being more direct this year. Getting it in to the forward line when we can and exploit one-on-ones. We have a lot of faith in guys such as Charlie Dixon , Ollie Lord, Todd Marshall one-on-one to get it in a bit quicker. It is a bit of a balance between cleaning up our entries to the forwards as well as being a little bit selfish by having a shot ourselves."

CHASING GREATNESS 

PORT ADELAIDE competes, but it has not fulfilled the vision of being a true contender. It has been good but not great.

"We are able to put a consistent regular season together over the past three to four years. We have proven we can finish top four even at the top of the ladder," notes Wines. "We have full confidence in being able to achieve that.

"We need to hone ourselves for that finals footy. A lot of that comes down to contested ball. The games we have lost, the two losses last year in the finals series, we were destroyed in contested ball particularly against GWS. We need to continue to work on that not just for the regular season by not taking any week lightly, continually having games stack up and hopefully be ready for finals."

There is a nasty sting in failing in hard, contested football when it counts most in September.

"Definitely, particularly by being a blue-collar club," says Wines. "It is in our DNA. You cannot take those opportunities for granted. We finished top four; if you don't make the most of it and go out in straight sets as we did you are back to square one. Whenever the opportunity comes, you have to make the most of it because you do not know when you will get them again."

MY CLUB

WINES is no longer a flight risk from Alberton in a homecoming move to Carlton where he has a family connection with an uncle on the player roll call at Princes Park.

"I came over here (late in 2012) fully intending to being here for two years and getting back to Victoria," says Wines. "This club has become ingrained in my DNA. I love this football club. I love our supporters. I love the history of our football club. The pleasure I get in going to events such as our hall of fame and talking to our old Port Adelaide players and hearing their stories of back in the day; combining them with the modern-day AFL team. It is a powerful and special place to be.

"Look at our track record of keeping players who come from interstate. It is a brilliant place to be - (president) David Koch, (football chief) Chris Davies, (chief executive) Matthew Richardson and Kenny. the environment they have created for us is one no-one wants to leave. We all want to be a part of this.

"The finishing touch is the premiership - we have been close a few times now but the fire burns as bright as it has been. The pleasing thing is this new young group of leaders who are really taking the torch and reigniting that flame in us and taking us to the next step has been tremendous."