Port Adelaide’s Brownlow medallist Ollie Wines is considering more heart surgery at the end of the AFL season.
Wines suffers from a heart irregularity which sometimes causes palpitations, leading him to be substituted out of three games in the past four seasons.
The 30-year-old admits frustration at the condition arising most recently — and forcing his substitution — from Port’s away win against Sydney on April 20.
That episode followed heart surgery last December in a bid to correct the issue.
“I had a procedure back in December and there was 1 per cent likeliness that it wouldn’t work,” Wines told reporters on Monday.
“And unfortunately, I’m in the 1 per cent that it hasn’t worked.
“So we’ve gone back to a bit of an intervention plan that we had the previous two years to manage it up to that operation and that is working well so far.
“We will reassess at the end of the season to see if we do it again and try a surgical operation.”
But Wines remained pragmatic about his heart issue.
“It was frustrating (to be subbed out against Sydney),” he said.
“But, look, at the end of the day, luckily for me it’s not life threatening.
Wines was chosen as the best player in the competition in 2021 after winning the Brownlow Medal. (Getty Images: Paul Kane)
“And it’s something that cost me a game of footy, enough to get subbed out of a game of footy.
“So I’m in a really fortunate position. I’ve got the best cardiologists and doctors around me at the footy club and they’ve talked me through everything.
“So at the moment, it’s just this plan that has previously worked.
“I’ve never had an episode when we’re using this intervention and once the season ends, we’ll assess if I need a procedure again.”
Wines and his teammates have returned to training after a mid-season bye which came with the Power languishing in 15th spot with four wins and seven losses ahead of meeting GWS in Canberra on Saturday night.
Some pundits have blamed Port’s fall on the coaching succession plan — head coach Ken Hinkley will step down at season’s end and be replaced by long-time assistant Josh Carr.
But Wines said from the February announcement of the handover “nothing has changed”.
“Ken’s our coach, he will be for the rest of the year,” he said.
“And I know he’s got a lot of energy and enthusiasm for the job and we’ll be there for him..
“Despite not winning a premiership, I think we’ve always been up there and we’ve played a lot of finals.
“Ken’s done a lot for me personally as a footballer and off the field so I’m always going to play for him.”
AAP
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