OLLIE Wines is appreciating the very clear answer developing at Alberton on just how deep the Port Adelaide midfield runs. And the new options for changing up the engine room might prove critical in ending a three-game losing streak to Brisbane at the Gabba on Saturday in the AFL season-opener.
"I made the comment to (senior coach) Ken Hinkley a couple of weeks ago," Wines said at Alberton on Tuesday, "that I was not so much worried, but I was thinking 12 or 18 months ago, 'Where's the next group of mids coming through after Travis Boak and Robbie Gray move on?' "
The answer is well defined now with Zak Butters, Willem Drew, Karl Amon, Connor Rozee, Xavier Duursma, Dan Houston, 2021 Rising Star nominee Miles Bergman, Jackson Mead, Sam Powell-Pepper ...
"We have ample options," Wines noted of the growth of the Port Adelaide midfield roster. "We are almost going down a path of having a team full of mids.
"And we are all going to play forward at times. We have forwards who are capable of going on-ball or onto a wing."
The blessing of a deeper midfield - to challenge opposition teams in the battle for momentum and contested football - carries the burden of understanding when to change rotations.
"We have been working on those combinations during the pre-season, in those two games (against Gold Coast and Adelaide) and the intraclub," Wines said. "It is something we are still working on - when to rotate to the bench and when to go deep forward.
"Different guys have different strengths. We are working with those combinations and I feel we have nailed it."
This new edge to the midfield should give Hinkley and new midfield coach Brett Montgomery greater options to work against a creative and deep-running Brisbane engine room that has proven again and again that contested football is the barometer in Port Adelaide games.
"We know what is going wrong," Wines said. "It is about winning the contest - and that is something we put a lot of work into during the pre-season. It was not there in the first pre-season game against Gold Coast and it was against Adelaide.
"We know it is something that wins and loses our games. We know it is a big KPI for us and we will need to be on top of it Saturday night.
"Being in the fight for longer is important for us. And we can't be dropping our heads when things are going against us."
Wines, 27, has closed his 10th pre-season - "life membership for me and Tom Clurey," he says.
"And this one has been as good as my best ones," adds Wines. "I have been injury free. I had a little clean up on my knee at the end of last season. That did not hold me back.
"There was a bit of a COVID scare at the start of January that cost me a few days, but it has been as good (a pre-season) as I have had personally. And as a team we have made some big inroads and improvements.
"We are up and running - and excited for Saturday (with the season-opener against Brisbane)."
Wines will start a new season with a new title - Brownlow Medallist. It has taken some adjusting, particularly with understanding the anxiety that comes with the AFL's highest individual award.
"If you had asked me a month ago," said the 182-game Wines, "I was probably a little bit rattled with it and the expectations that come with it.
"But I have had some good conversations with (Hinkley and the club psychiatrist) to reset my mind. Ken has been my right-hand man from the day I walked into the club. I open up to him not just on football stuff, but my personal life. He has enormous experiences from playing in teams with incredible players (such as Gary Ablett senior and junior at Geelong) and coaching them as well. He has a lot of lessons there.
"I have put it behind me, all in the past. Despite wearing that tag, it does not define who I am now, the player I am now.
"I am restarting as hungry as ever.
"To win a Brownlow you have to have a pretty good year," added Wines of the expectations in the follow-up season. "I still feel I have a lot to improve on. There is a lot I have worked on during the off-season.
"My role, it is pretty simple in my mind. Nothing revolves around (statistical) numbers for me. It is about my role for the team. If I am able to do that, then I am happy with that. I will be doing everything I can to continue my form.
"You want to maintain what you have done in the past. But you also have to still look for improvement. That will keep you honest and searching for that (elite) level.
"There are little things in my game - like finishing off handballs, driving through tackles - little things that keep me on my toes and improving."
Port Adelaide will name its match 22 and options for the substitute on Thursday and travel to Brisbane on Friday. The match will begin at 7:10pm local time (7:40pm ACDT) at the Gabba.
