AHEAD of Travis Boak’s 250^th AFL game against Collingwood on Friday night, co-captain Ollie Wines has lauded his leadership and loyalty to the Port Adelaide Football Club.

Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360, Wines said Boak’s decision to stay at Alberton when Port was struggling is the reason the club has been able to turn its fortunes around.

“He had every reason to leave the club when he had the opportunity to go back to Victoria when the club was on its knees,” Wines said.

“He chose to stay, and I think a big part of where we are now as a football club, in terms of football and off the field as a business where we are able to get by on our own, is because of Boaky.”

Wines also praised the former skipper for the positive influence he has had on him, and the entire playing group at the Power.

“Boaky has been the best and probably the biggest influencer of my football career, since coming in six years ago,” he said.

“He’s the most caring person you’ll ever meet. From the youngest guy on the list to the oldest, anything you need, Boaky will be there for you.

“It’s hard to put into words. Not one person would say a bad word about Boaky. We all love him.”

Ken Hinkley’s men have had the wood over Collingwood in recent years - having won four of the last five matches between the two sides - and Wines said it was another great opportunity to test themselves under the Friday night lights.

“It’s massive for us as a club - we don’t get too many of these opportunities throughout the year,” the 24-year-old said.

“To have a little bit of form like we do at this stage and to be going up against - barring Geelong - the form side Collingwood in Victoria, Friday night lights, we’re looking forward to the challenge.

“You can have a look at our season so far, and we have lost the two matches but we think for portions of those games we were controlling and it was down to our poor execution late.

“All in all, we think we have been pretty consistent, and we hope we can keep up with these top-tier teams in the AFL.

“(Tonight) is a massive challenge for that.”

Round 7 gets underway tonight with a blockbuster between Collingwood and Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium with the match commencing at 7.20pm ACST.