HAVING endured two previous heartbreaking preliminary final defeats, former Bendigo Pioneer Ollie Wines gets his third chance at winning his way through to an AFL grand final this Saturday night.

Wines' Port Adelaide will take on the Western Bulldogs at the Adelaide Oval, with the winner to face either Melbourne or Geelong in the grand final a fortnight later.

Wines has come up agonisingly short in his previous two preliminary final experiences with the Power, losing to Richmond by six points last year and to Hawthorn by three points in his second season in 2014.

Both the Tigers and Hawks went on to win the premiership the following week as Wines and the Power were left to lament what could have been.

When reflecting on those previous two preliminary final defeats, Wines told Fox Footy's AFL 360 on Tuesday night his biggest learnings from the games were centred around grasping the opportunity when it's presented.

"The thing that I have definitely learned over my two preliminary final experiences is you have to take your opportunities when they come," Wines said.

"I think last year (against Richmond) we lacked a bit of composure throughout the match and didn't grasp our opportunities when they presented and if you don't, all of a sudden you're out and back to square one with 16 other teams."

The hurt of last year's 6.10 (46) to 6.4 (40) loss to Richmond in the preliminary final was immediately addressed by the Power at the start of their 2021 pre-season as they set about their path to redemption and creating an opportunity to win the club's first flag since 2004.

"It was the first thing we did this year when we got back for pre-season... we got it all out in the air," Wines said.

"Obviously, guys deal with those types of losses differently; some move on quickly and others dwell on them for a while, so it was just good to clear the air and start the pre-season off using that as motivation.

"We're definitely a lot more hardened from our experience last year and we've used that to spur us on throughout the year and 12 months on we're back in the same position and have the opportunity to go one step extra.

"It's exciting for our group. We think we're a lot better team than this time last year and we'll get our opportunity to prove that Saturday night."

The Power ended the home and away season second on the ladder with a 17-5 record, before dominating Geelong in their qualifying final to win by 43 points - their seventh victory in a row.

The victory over the Cats, in which Wines racked up 33 disposals, gave the Power last weekend off and the chance to freshen up, while their opponents on Saturday night - the Western Bulldogs - were put through the rigours of an epic semi-final against Brisbane that they won by one point at the Gabba.

"As a football supporter, it was unreal to see a match like that. That's what you want to see in finals footy with the game going down to the line and the atmosphere at the Gabba in the last quarter was what finals footy is all about," Wines said.

"Hopefully, we can have a great game like that and win. These are the moments we play for."

Wines has produced both a consistent and dominant season for the Power in the midfield that was duly recognised with his first All-Australian selection when named in the centre.

As well as his selection in the All-Australian team, the 26-year-old midfield bull also finished equal runner-up alongside Western Bulldogs' captain Marcus Bontempelli to Melbourne hard-nut Clayton Oliver in the AFL Coaches Association Champion Player Award.

And Wines just may become the second player drafted from the Bendigo Pioneers alongside Richmond's Dustin Martin in 2017 to win the Brownlow Medal.

Wines, who was selected by the Power with pick No.7 in the 2012 National Draft and has played 181 games for the club, is the Brownlow Medal favourite with most betting agencies.

"Whatever happens with that will happen; it's out of my control now," Wines said.

"It's a regular season award and I've got finals to focus on, so it's not really on my mind."

Wines has averaged 32.1 disposals across his 23 games this year, including a season-high of 43 twice against Gold Coast in round 14 and Hawthorn in round 17.

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