Wines relishing in fitness and form

Fast forward a year, the Power's vice-captain has missed just two games, and has recaptured his form as his side charged to the AFL's minor premiership as the club celebrated its 150th year.

The 25-year-old said he couldn't be happier.

“It's been a great year,” he said.

“Obviously it's been bizarre at points due to the COVID restrictions. We've been through stages in the hub and we've been flying in and out of Adelaide on game days, so a lot has changed.

“But as a club we've been able to play some great football throughout this year and been rewarded for it with the minor premiership which has set us up really well for the finals.”

Wines had surgery on his shoulder - though not the one he'd injured in 2019 - after dislocating it during a training incident, and was set to miss the opening few games of the season before the COVID crisis brought the season to a halt.

While the stopping of the season was a disaster for the whole competition, it ended up being a major advantage for Wines.

“It was a blessing in disguise for me,” he said.

“I fully recovered during COVID. I was fit and ready to go. The only thing I was missing was the contact training side of things which we were able to get right in the first few weeks back, so I was ready to go. It probably helped me gain an extra three games this year.”

While Western Australian teams were forced to enter the Queensland hubs early, both Port and the Adelaide Crows were given permission to train in South Australia.

They played the season's one Showdown in Adelaide before Wines and his teammates made their way to the AFL's hub in Queensland.

While most clubs have been in the hubs for the majority of the season, Port spent just three weeks before travel allowances meant they could return to Adelaide, host home games at the Adelaide Oval, and fly in and out for their away games in Queensland.

“We were incredibly lucky not to have to spend a long period in the hub,” Wines said.

“It makes a big difference being able to go home and sleep in your own bed and prepare that way, and to also have your home ground and some fans as well.

“The fly in, fly out on game day has been an interesting experience, especially early on when we had afternoon games, but when we've played night games we've found it's had a lot of benefits.”

And it always makes a difference when you're winning.

Port missed the finals in 2019, but have charged to the top of the ladder this season, having pulled the rare feat of staying in top spot for the entire season.

Wines said having the same team on the park for the majority of the year has been key.

“In the past few years we've had guys like Hamish (Hartlett), Charlie (Dixon) and myself miss a lot of football,” he said.

“Having those senior bodies in the side and having some consistency has been fantastic for the team.

“Personally I'm excited to be back and playing good football.

“My body is feeling great, I'm able to really play in a way that can help the team. It means a great deal to me that I can help.”

As September rolls into October, two things are now on the horizon - the home-and-away season has just ended and already Wines is being talked about as a potential trade target.

But for him, it's just white noise.

“I don't worry about that stuff,” Wines said.

“You don't really pay any attention to it. Every Victorian player at an interstate club gets linked to a move at some point, it happens to all players.

“All I know is I love it here.”

Besides, he has far bigger things to focus on with finals starting this week.

“We did our game review for the Collingwood game, now we turn our attention to Geelong,” Wines said.

“We played them recently and it didn't go our way. We will learn from that, find things we can do better and hopefully we can get the win.

“It's on our ground at Adelaide Oval, hopefully as big a crowd as we can get, and we hope to have a great night for our club.”