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When Ollie Wines was growing up, there's wasn't much he wouldn't eat.
"Since he was a little tacker, he ate everything that was put in front of him," his father Tony told ABC Radio Adelaide.
So it came as no surprise to them that he would grow up to be one of the strongest and most durable footballers in the AFL.
"He's had a couple of accidents or injuries out of football, but he's sort of developed into a very strong person, physically," Tony said.
"[But] seriously … everything you put in front of Ollie on a plate he ate.
"He didn't like to let anything get in his way when he was small, that's for sure."
Getty: Paul Kane
)The 26-year-old last night became Port Adelaide's first-ever Brownlow Medallist.
He polled 36 votes to take out the award three votes ahead of Western Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli.
Drafted to the Power in 2012, Wines won the Rising Star award in 2013, and has been a mainstay of the Power's midfield ever since.
'He's had a pretty good year'
Watching on last night from his hometown of Echuca were his parents, Tony and Jane.
The player's — self-proclaimed — "toughest critic", Tony said even he couldn't foresee the count going so well for his son.
"I would prefer that he was playing footy next weekend, but he's had a pretty good year," he said.
"All dads of AFL footballers are probably the hardest critics as far as their sons go. We've all taken them to games of footy from when they started."
Draft night in 2012 was a difficult night for the Wines family.
A very close family, none of them expected Ollie to be drafted interstate.
His father said they had hoped he would be playing somewhere closer to home.
"It was not his first choice. I can still recall draft night. It wasn't one of my better days that's for sure."
But, he now admits, it turned out to be the best move for his career.
"He's settled into South Australia. He's made it his home and he's made the Port Adelaide Football Club his home," he said.
"I couldn't be prouder of the way they have accepted him and us as well over the years."
Proud night for Echuca
It was a proud night for Echuca, with Wines taking the win and Clayton Oliver, also from Echuca, finishing third.
Instagram: janewines
)Tony said the night started out a lot quieter than how it finished.
"It was quiet at home because there was only Jane and myself [watching]," he said.
"After the count finished it did go up a level, we had some people turn up with copious amounts of champagne.
"A few of his mates and a few of ours, so it was a really good night after the event."
A couple of hours away were his three siblings, Maddie, Sophie and Harry, who live together in North Melbourne.
They celebrated the win just as hard from their lounge room, leaping off the couch after it was clear their brother was officially a Brownlow Medallist.
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Just hours after being crowned the winner, and no doubt lacking sleep, Ollie Wines this morning said it all still felt surreal.
"I definitely was not expecting to [win], it was such a competitive year, so many guys had tremendous years, so it was a bit of a raffle on the night," he told ABC Radio Adelaide.
One of the closest counts in history, four players polled more than 30 votes in 2021.
Wines said he did not realise he had it won until just before the final round.
"My mind was racing a little bit. It probably wasn't until perhaps the second-last game when I knew we played the Western Bulldogs, and I knew Marcus wasn't going to [poll] that I sort of thought, 'I think I'm going to win this'," he said.
"That was probably the first moment I dared to dream about it."
Wines credits his footy club
His tally of 36 votes equalled the record for most votes in a count, also reached by Richmond star Dustin Martin in 2017.
Wines also polled in 16 games this season, another new record.
Getty: Sarah Reed
)"I'm incredibly proud to be a part of the Port Adelaide Football Club and the team we're creating and continuing to build is still going at it, despite falling short a couple of times in preliminary finals.
"We're as hungry as ever and I guess this is a little bit of a reward for our team after a disappointing end to the season."
And while his dad reckons he is a tough critic, Ollie says his mum is worse.
"Dad's always pretty relaxed and he doesn't take it too serious. It's probably been Mum, to be honest, [she] tells me how it is," he said.
"If I'm not doing too well, she'll be pretty honest and tell me. So it's good to sort of have the good cop, bad cop going there."
But, as his dad said, he did have a pretty good year.