17 Bernie Vince

Choose another player Brown, Luke - [16] Crouch, Brad - [2] Dangerfield, Patrick - [32] Doughty, Michael - [11] Douglas, Richard - [26] Ellis-Yolmen, Cameron - [28] Grigg, Mitchell - [38] Henderson, Ricky - [45] Jacobs, Sam - [24] Jaensch, Matthew - [10] Jenkins, Josh - [20] Johncock, Graham - [18] Johnston, Lewis - [8] Joyce, Nicholas - [42] Kerridge, Sam - [29] Knights, Chris - [21] Lynch, Tom - [27] Lyons, Jarryd - [31] Mackay, David - [14] Martin, Brodie - [36] McKernan, Shaun - [35] Otten, Andy - [22] Petrenko, Jared - [23] Porplyzia, Jason - [40] Reilly, Brent - [3] Riley, Aidan - [43] Rutten, Ben - [25] Shaw, Sam - [34] Sloane, Rory - [9] Smith, Brodie - [33] Symes, Brad - [15] Talia, Daniel - [12] Tambling, Richard - [1] Thompson, Luke - [6] Thompson, Scott - [5] Tippett, Kurt - [4] van Berlo, Nathan - [7] Vince, Bernie - [17] Walker, Taylor - [13] Wright, Matthew - [47]

2010 season:
After a best and fairest year in 2009, Bernie Vince was under extra attention from the opposition in 2010 as one of Adelaide’s premier midfielders. In the round three loss to Melbourne Vince had 36 disposals and was in the umpires votes, but he was unable to consistently produce his best football in the early parts of the season. A club suspension and ankle injury at training in the lead up to round nine meant Vince was sidelined for the next four rounds. He returned in round 13 to gather 30 disposals against Melbourne, and he was one of Adelaide’s best against Geelong in round 16 with 32 possessions. A knee injury against Brisbane in round 20 ended his season, and his pre-season has been interrupted slightly because of it. Vince believes he has started to handle the extra attention from opposition and has learnt that there are ways that will allow him to benefit the team. “Being tagged is something I haven’t had to deal with in the past too much, but I’m starting to get used to it. I’m finding different ways to handle it and ways to still have an impact in the game. It’s not all about you when you’re getting tagged and it’s not just about getting a heap of the footy. It’s also about doing the little things that a lot of people don’t notice from the outside.”

David Noble’s 2010 review:
“Bernie had a learning year. He learned what it's all about when you come off a B&F win and are more recognised for what you can do. Those guys need to go through that. It's difficult to try and pass on that knowledge or experience without them actually experiencing it. I would like to think he'll be a more mature player for it.”

Career:
Vince was drafted by Adelaide with the 32nd pick at the 2005 national draft. He was playing A grade cricket for Woodville on the day of the draft but the former South Australian country batsman had to give the game away to concentrate on his first AFL pre-season. Vince played four AFL games in 2006 and six in 2007 but again was at risk of missing out on exploiting his footballing talents. Captain Simon Goodwin took Vince aside before the 2008 pre-season and told him to make the most of the opportunity he had on Adelaide’s list. A breakthrough year in 2008 saw Vince feature in two best on ground performances, the standout a two goal, 24 possession game in round three against Port Adelaide. He had 376 possessions in 2008 and 75 tackles and kicked 15 goals.
Vince established himself as one of the elite midfielders of the competition in 2009 with a standout year. He won his first Club Champion award finishing two votes ahead of Jason Porplyzia in one of the tightest vote counts in memory. Vince finished the year ranked first at the club in disposals (597), kicks (336) and marks (142). He was included in the initial 40-man All-Australian squad and also polled a career-best 13 Brownlow Medal votes, the most of any Adelaide player this season. He had a number of standout games including 34 disposals and three goals against Carlton in round 22.