Port Adelaide 2024 Captaincy Debate: Will Ollie Wines, Connor Rozee Or Someone Else Take Over From The Departed Tom Jonas?

Ollie Wines is considered the front-runner to take over as captain of the Port Adelaide football team following Tom Jonas' retirement; however, recent conversations inside the club suggest that this may not be the case. The incumbent deputy expresses his opinion.

Ollie Wines has stated that he will not take it personally in the event that he is not selected to become the next captain of Port Adelaide.

After serving as Tom Jonas' deputy since 2020, as a co-captain alongside him in 2019, and as an acting captain for the Power in 12 games this year, Wines is emerging as a top prospect to succeed Jonas when he retires. Wines' tenure with the Power began in 2020.

But this week, the head coach of the Port football team, Chris Davies, stated that the 2021 Brownlow medalist was not a sure thing to receive the captaincy, and he hinted that the captaincy might be offered to a younger candidate as part of the club's "generational reset."

In the next month, Wines will turn 29 years old, while Connor Rozee, the player who appears to be the most likely option, will turn 24 in January.

Wines stated in an interview that took place the previous week that "it's not something that I'd screw my face up at" if he missed out on the opportunity.

Before the Power's knockout semi-final loss, Wines stated that "(The captaincy decision) is something that is done for the best of the team." Wines was referring to the fact that the Power had lost.

"I am just as competitive as everybody else at the club when it comes to winning.

"I am confident that whatever decision is made by the club, it will be for the benefit of our team as a whole and will offer us the best possible opportunity to triumph.

"I don't take things like that personally," the speaker said.

According to Wines, last year was one of his poorest in the Australian Football League.

He was Port's first-choice centre center midfielder for the previous two seasons and started every game this season, however he spent much of the season on the flank.

After knee surgery in the offseason, the team gave Rozee, Zak Butters, Jason Horne-Francis, and Willem Drew more playing time, and Wines contributed to the year.

When preseason started up again, Wines figured they'd pick a captain.

"We've been pretty transparent and that's what we've done for the last five or six years," he said last week.

Nothing is finalized at this time of year, so make no plans.

The wines would be a reliable stopgap measure.

If Rozee is selected, it will be a clean slate, similar to when 24-year-old Travis Boak was given the Power's No. 1 guernsey in 2013.

Boak served as captain for six years, during which he led the team to an AFL record 139 games.

At the same age, Marcus Bontempelli was named captain of the Western Bulldogs, while Joel Selwood was named captain of Geelong and Trent Cotchin was named captain of Richmond.

Alongside Butters, another player who was selected in the first round in 2018, Rozee has established himself as a prominent member of the Power and a rising star in the game.

During the course of the previous two years, Rozee has been awarded a Showdown Medal, one Best and Fairest Blazer, and one All-Australian Blazer.

Since 2022, he has not been a part of the leadership group that the Power has been using, which consists of Jonas, Wines, and Darcy Byrne-Jones.

However, as a show of their growing stature in the squad, Rozee and Butters joined that contingent on a camp last pre-season to welcome seven new recruits. This is a sign of their growing stature in the team.

In March, Rozee shared with this masthead his ambition to one day lead the club as captain.

"If that comes around then that's great, but if it doesn't, any sort of leadership role's great," Rozee said. "Any sort of leadership role's great."

The two most likely candidates are Wines and Rozee, although 2023 All-Australian Dan Houston, who will be 26 at the time, also has a shot.

On Wednesday, Davies urged the club to consider what "set individuals and the team up for success down the track."

That Ollie is captain is not a given. But that doesn't mean I don't consider him a great leader, if not the best. The future of our club and Ollie's ability to return to top form are both important considerations. Ollie will turn 29 next month. There has been a natural generational reset at our club this year, and we need to capitalize on it.