SuperCoach POD: Ollie Wines Is A Player To Keep An Eye On

Port Adelaide midfielder, Ollie Wines, has had a surprising start to the 2023 SuperCoach season, averaging a mere 70.7 and has bled $174,200 from his starting price. The 28-year-old’S best score is an okay outing against the Pies in round 2, where he scored a 93. As a result, Wines is now in only 1% of SuperCoach teams.

That’s sadly his season highlight thus far, but how long will this form slump continue? This is the 2021 Brownlow medalist that we are talking about and a proven SuperCoach scorer. Wines has averaged 105.5, 112.5 and 104.3 in his last three AFL seasons, which justified his $580,700 starting price in 2023.

Furthermore, the 2021 All-Australian is actually not playing as badly as what his SuperCoach scores suggest. Wines is averaging 23.9 disposals per game and 10.4 contestant possessions. This actually doesn’t sound too bad. However, it’s his score involvements, kicking numbers and disposal efficiency that’s well below his career average.

During Port’s win over St Kilda, wines recorded 26 disposals but 18 of those were handballs and he only managed 1 tackle. This low-tackle number is a trend for Wines this season, as the 2021 Port Adelaide Best & Fairest winner is only averaging 2.6 per game in 2023.

Then there’s his disposal efficiency, which I mentioned earlier. Wines is recording a 64.1% total disposal efficiency, which is very much below his career average. This, as well as the low tackle count, is beneath Wines’ best and as a result, it has affected his SuperCoach scoring in 2023. Wines’ CBA attendance has also been low, with only 9 CBAs attended last week. Meanwhile, his teammates in Jason Horn-Francis, Zac Butters, Travis Boak and Connor Rozee recorded 20, 19, 18 and 12.

Now, for the positives and the reason that you should keep an eye on Wines. The Brownlow medalist is still finding the footy and that’s despite the lower CBA attendance this season. I doubt Wines’ low CBA attendance will continue. Veteran teammate Boak, for example, will likely start to tire as the season progresses and Horn-Francis is only in his second season of AFL. How much longer can his young body take the toll of this primary midfielder role every week?

If Wines can start attending more CBAs again and his efficiency improves, which we know it can and should, it’s possible that we could see Wines’ scores creep into the 100s again. This could end up being a great POD pick in the later stages of the season, as I can’t see the 1344 teams with Wines currently, holding him for much longer and I can’t see that number increasing anytime soon either. Although, I would only take a chance on Wines after we see his form shift.