MICHAEL Wilson describes his farewell lap as “self-indulgent” but Port Adelaide is confident it will inspire the team to victory over Collingwood on Friday night.
Wilson, who retired from the game last week, knocked back the opportunity to play one more game for the Power in favour of the club promoting youth and, therefore, will say goodbye from a chauffeur-driven car at 7:10pm on Friday.
“It’s an odd feeling. Ideally, you finish on a high note, you’re playing well and you go out in your last game able to play. It feels a little bit self-indulgent to go around in a car and wave to people,” Wilson said on Wednesday.
“Jeez, I hope people are there because it’s going to be a very cold, lonely night if I’m riding around in the car, it’s pouring with rain and [there’s no-one there].
“The supporters have been fantastic for our club all through our history and I guess it’s a chance for me to say thank-you to them as well.”
Wilson will also address the team prior to the match and, despite not knowing exactly what he would say, was hopeful it would serve as motivation for the group.
“I’ll sit back and have a think over the next few days about what I’m going to say. I’ll probably talk about the things that occurred to me before I went out in games during the year, like play the game like it’s your last,” he said.
“It’s been well documented that I had a lot of injuries in my career and each game I sort of addressed like it could be my last and it almost came true in a couple of games.
“Over the last couple of months, when I hadn’t been playing, you’re always looking for ways to motivate your teammates and to get the team back on to the winners’ list.
“Hopefully, on Friday night I can be a little bit of an inspiration to people and whatever it takes to get the team up and winning, I’m willing to do.”
Wilson, who conceded he didn’t watch any football in his first weekend of retirement, said he was looking forward to seeing the club’s younger players, namely disciples Mitch Farmer, Matt Thomas, Nick Lower, Tom Logan and Jacob Surjan, on the big Friday night stage.
Farmer, who will play in his first ‘home’ game this week, has been at Alberton less than 12 months, but with his uncompromising, hard attack on the ball, has already been touted as a future Wilson.
Farmer, who hails from Victoria, conceded he didn’t know a great deal about the Port Adelaide champion until arriving in SA.
“Before I came over, I didn’t really have anyone that I looked up to, I just went out there and played, but coming over here and just seeing the way Michael trained, played and how hard he went at the ball; I just looked up to that and I thought I want to be him when I grow up,” Farmer said.
“I guess, if I could fit into some of his shoes, because he’s got big shoes to fill, I’ll be more likely to look up to him in the future.”
Assistant coach Matthew Primus, who played alongside Wilson for many years, urged fans to get along to farewell the respected former defender and said the players were desperate to give ‘Wilbur’ a fitting farewell.
“We want to win milestone games, or whatever you want to call them. We lost in Gavin Wanganeen’s 200th and every guy who played in that still remembers it,” Primus said.
“This is Michael’s milestone or farewell game and it means a fair bit to the guys who have been here one year, like Mitch, and also guys who have been around 10 years like Brendon Lade.”
