Bernie Vince Biography

Bernie Vince announces his retirement, effective at the end of the 2018 season.

"(He's) a very talented footballer, but we've got more than we thought we would. What he has brought is his competitiveness. He's competitive with everything he does, and people would see that on the field," Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney said.

"The balance that he brings with his competitiveness is his off-field (traits) and that's probably the reason why he's not only been embraced by his teammates, but by all Melbourne fans."

Bernie Vince's future is in serious doubt after he suffered an AC joint injury to his shoulder in the first quarter of Casey's clash with Sandringham at Casey Fields in the VFL.

Lions coach Chris Fagan says Dayne Zorko's ability to shake the tag of Melbourne's Bernie Vince is a significant step in his development.

"That's a good breakthrough game for him," Fagain said.

"Once you become a really good player, that's the next stage, they start to tag you, and you've got to try and work your way through that.

"He wanted to get better at it because it had become a bit of a trend, but tonight he bucked the trend."

As Melbourne's oldest player, Bernie Vince understands his form will dictate whether he earns another contract for 2019.

"Game-day performance will be a big factor in how long I play for," Vince said.

"It's basically how it is with any other player. I'll be picked on form and my contract will reflect that."

As he nears the end of his career, Bernie Vince says he is desperate to experience finals success with Melbourne.

"You're not sure how long you have left in footy when you get to my age," Vince said.

"You get impatient ... these young guys coming through, although they're disappointed, they probably have a long time to make up for it.

"But guys like myself, Jordan Lewis and Nathan Jones, we're at an age where we get a little bit impatient and we want results now."

Bernie Vince signs a new one-year deal with Melbourne to play on in 2018.

"When I first started [at Melbourne] we were playing hoping to win, but now there is belief in the way we play and that our brand of footy holds up against the good teams," Vince said.

Bernie Vince is keen to play on for the Demons in 2018.

"I've had really good chats with 'Goody' (Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin) ... he just said I'm not going to put a restriction on your age or how many games you can play," Vince told Fox Footy earlier this month.

"You just keep playing as you're performing. And whether that means I play on for another couple of years, that might mean play VFL if I'm not in the best 18 or 22, and I'm fully accepting of that."

Crows captain Taylor Walker reveals Rory Sloane thought a Crows trainer was his Melbourne tagger Bernie Vince as medical staff tried to get him off the ground after being knocked out in Darwin.

"As soon as I walked over I saw in his eyes he wasn't with it and I recommended that he might go and sit on the bench," Walker said.

"He was pretty reluctant at first ... he thought one of the trainers was Bernie (Vince) and he said to him, 'Listen, Bernie, you're not my mate'."

Melbourne co-captain Nathan Jones says Bernie Vince needs to eradicate the undisciplined acts from his game that keep getting him suspended.

Vince was banned for two weeks by the Match Review Panel on Monday for striking Adelaide's Eddie Betts during Melbourne's loss to the Crows in Darwin.

The 31-year-old was also fined $1000 for making forceful front-on contact to Richard Douglas.

"He really does need to smarten himself up," Jones said.

"It's happened far too often with him over the past 12-18 months, he's been (suspended) too many times.

"It's frustrating for us because he's a very important player to us."

Bernie Vince says he is not dwelling on being traded from Adelaide to Melbourne.

"Footy's a business now and that decision (to trade me) was made, and if you keep holding onto things like that you don't make it wherever you're going. I've just thought nothing but positive thoughts since going to Melbourne, and I've loved it," Vince said.

Out of contract at the end of 2017, Vince says he will cherish his time in the sport even more.

"I always say when you're coming to the end of your career you'll know when it's time to retire, but I still love footy," he said.

"I just try and enjoy every day I come into the footy club because I'm out of contract this year, so you sort of live like every year is your last year now."

Taylor Adams is expecting his accidental sledge at Melbourne to result in the heat being ramped up for the Queen's Birthday clash at the MCG.

Demons star Bernie Vince took offence to Adams' comments that Magpies defender, and former Demon, Lynden Dunn, hadn't been part of a successful club before.

"It's a pretty fiery game as it is, so it probably adds a bit of fuel to an already big-burning fire," Adams told RSN927.

"I'd like to see more of it, to be honest. Like the NBA, I like how honest and raw the players are.

"It's almost cocky, but it's just confidence."

Taylor Adams' comments about Collingwood recruit Lynden Dunn finally being at a "successful club" have caused a stir, with Melbourne midfielder Bernie Vince saying the team would use them as extra motivation for the Queen's Birthday clash.

In an interview following the Magpies' 20-point win over Fremantle in Perth on Sunday, the midfielder was asked to describe the impact former Demon Dunn had made since joining Collingwood.

"[Lynden] hasn't been part of a real successful club and I just get the feeling he loves being here at Collingwood," Adams told ABC Radio.

"It's just given him a spring in his step and the way he leads around the footy club and out on the field, it's crucial to our back six and our 18 out there."

Despite not being aware of Adams' comments, at his press conference Vince added extra spice to the clash between the traditional rivals.

"It might be (used as a motivating factor)," Vince said.

"What is he (Dunn) at a successful club now, is he?

"That's the first I've heard of it but we might be able to use that one as a bit of motivation.

"Not sure what he's done at Collingwood yet though."

Bernie Vince undergoes a procedure to repair a toenail injury he suffered in the Demons' 29-point loss to Geelong.

The 31-year-old was assessed at various times during the match after having his foot stomped on at a contest, but managed to get through the game.

At one point during the second half, Vince's sock was full of blood as a result of the injury.

Vince has had his toenail removed as part of the procedure.

Bernie Vince accepts a one-match suspension for a behind-the-ball hit on Nathan Wright in Melbourne's clash against St Kilda.

Melbourne has elevates Jack Viney to co-captain alongside Nathan Jones for the 2017 season.

Former Hawk Jordan Lewis has been voted straight into the Demons' six-man leadership group.

Veteran Colin Garland has made way, while Tom McDonald, Max Gawn and Bernie Vince make up the rest of the group.

Bernie Vince admits lying to club doctors after copping a hit to the head to stay on the ground.

Speaking on Fox Footy, Vince admitted he had misled club doctors so he would not have to go through a concussion test.

"I have. I shouldn't say that probably, on air, but I already have, so there you go," Vince said.

"Generally if I get a head knock, I say I'm a bit winded. That generally keeps me on."

The 30-year-old said the culture in the AFL industry regarding concussion had changed significantly from the past.

"It was almost who's the toughest, to be able to get a big knock and be able to come back on," he said.

"There's been a complete change, and I think it's for the better."

Bernie Vince accepts a one-match ban for his clumsy hit on North Melbourne half-back Jamie Macmillan.

Melbourne has overhauled its leadership group with captain Nathan Jones the only survivor from last year.

Vice-captain Lynden Dunn, former co-captain Jack Grimes, key forward Chris Dawes and Heritier Lumumba have all been axed from the 2015 group, while Daniel Cross has already retired.

The new group features reigning best and fairest winner Bernie Vince, veteran Colin Garland, defender Tom McDonald and emerging stars Jack Viney and Max Gawn.

Bernie Vince says Melbourne teammate Jesse Hogan's call to put off contract talks makes sense.

"He's contracted for next year still, so I think he'd be silly to sign now. He loves it around the place," Vince said.

"(He) might be able to squeeze a bit more money out of the club if he has another good year, so I can see why he's done it.

"Hopefully he doesn't take any money off me though. I haven't got much left at the moment."

Bernie Vince says he wants to step up and be part of the club's leadership group on an official basis in 2016.

Despite not having an official title alongside his name, the midfielder was his team's premier player last season, winning his maiden best and fairest at Melbourne.

"I've still got a fair way to go in that leadership area – I can lift again," Vince said.

"I really felt like I had ownership of the footy club. I loved that role and hopefully I can continue to build in that area."

Bernie Vince has suffered a minor setback after breaking his little finger at training.

"He's got a little pin in there. It's pretty standard, most boys at this time of year might suffer something minor like that, but that's not going to affect him in terms of weights and running," Melbourne skipper Nathan Jones said.

Bernie Vince has ended Nathan Jones' three-year best and fairest streak, claiming his maiden Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Memorial Trophy at Crown Palladium on Friday night.

Vince, who polled 328 votes, edged out emerging onballer Jack Viney by just one vote in a thrilling count, to add to the best and fairest award he won at Adelaide in 2009.

Tom McDonald's outstanding start to the season, which saw him feature in the All Australian discussion, was enough to steer the key defender (300 votes) into third place.

Vince, 29, made special mention of coach-in-waiting Simon Goodwin, who will take the reins in 2017, revealing he was the one who first taught him the standards he needed to abide by during their time at the Crows.

"Since I first set foot inside the Adelaide Football Club I always looked up to him but he didn't always look on me that well for the first couple of years," Vince said.

"He took me under his wing in 2007 and he taught me how to train and taught me how to play at the elite level and I never thought I was an elite level player until he told me that.

"I thank him so much for this year – he's been fantastic for me."

Patrick Dangerfield says he is happy to cop a hard tag week in week out as long as the Crows keep winning.

After enduring a hard physical tag from former teammate Bernie Vince, Dangerfield told Adelaide radio station 5AA that he was annoyed with his poor performance rather than the hard tag.

"It's frustrating, but you're not really frustrated in Bernie or what Bernie is doing - it's more frustrated in yourself that you're not playing the way you know that you can," Dangerfield said.

"That was disappointing for me on the weekend. I want to play better than that but at the same time I'll take that every week if we win by five goals."

Once a fan favourite at the Crows, Bernie Vince finds himself the target of boos at Adelaide Oval after his use of physical tactics to subdue Patrick Dangerfield.

"I don't like referring back to when I played in the dark old days, but you'd never even think of doing that stuff because you would have went off the ground on a stretcher," Adelaide coach Phil Walsh said of Vince after the game.

Melbourne is facing the prospect of being without star midfielder Bernie Vince for its round one opener against Gold Coast at the MCG.

Vince has suffered a setback in his bid to return from a niggling hamstring injury, with the Demons not expecting him to train for the next month.

"Unfortunately Bernie re-injured his hamstring quite late in his recovery from the original injury and he's started back in the rehab process," Demons football manager Josh Mahoney said.

"It'll be two to three weeks of training before he gets ready to play again.

"He's missed quite a bit of pre-season, originally with a shoulder injury, so we'll have to make a decision on how much training he has to do before he's cleared to play again."

Nathan Jones has equalled the feat of club great Jim Stynes, winning three consecutive Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medals as Melbourne's best and fairest player in 2014.

Jones polled 311 votes to edge out first-year Demon and runner-up Dom Tyson (293), while Bernie Vince held down third position (270).

"In the time that I've been here I think we've lacked direction, but I can guarantee I've never been more confident in the direction that we're heading now," Jones said as he accepted his award.

"We've got some terrific stability from the top down and I really believe we have true trust in the coaching staff and belief in the game plan and I have belief, more importantly, in my teammates and the players I stand alongside on the weekends.

"I honestly don't think success is too far away."

Matt Crouch gathers 23 disposals in Adelaide's NAB Challenge match against Port Adelaide with Crows coach Brenton Sanderson saying the club's decision to trade Bernie Vince for pick No.23 will pay dividends in the long run.

"You know that I liked him before the draft and for him just to slot in today and just get into the rhythm of the game really quickly was really pleasing for me," Sanderson said.

"It's unfair to do 'Vince for Matt Crouch' because Matt Crouch is just 18 and starting his career, Bernie's in the twilight of his career as a 28-year-old.

"It was a football decision that was made and we've got Matt Crouch on our list now and ... as I said, 10 years, 12 years of Brad and Matt playing together is going to be really exciting for our footy club."

Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson says trading Bernie Vince was a tough decision but necessary for the club to improve its playing list.

"Bernie's one of our fans' favourites. Our players absolutely adore him, I loved coaching him, I have a great relationship with Bernie," Sanderson said.

"Any time you have to let a club champion out of your footy club it's going to be a step back ... we wish Bernie all the best with his next stage in his career and I'm sure he's going to have a fantastic time at Melbourne.

"We couldn't go two years without picks in the first two rounds. You have to keep bringing young talent into your football team."

New Demon recruit Bernie Vince claims he was 'pushed' by Adelaide to find a new home.

"They let me know even if I had a stand-out season next year they weren't going to re-sign me any further," Vince said.

"It has come out that this was my decision ... I don't think they (the club) want the fans or the media to know they pushed me out of the door.

"But the full team knows the situation."

Bernie Vince joins Melbourne after being offered a three-year deal by the Demons.

In exchange, the Crows will receive Melbourne's second round compensation pick (No. 23 overall) in the NAB AFL Draft that the Demons received after losing the services of free agent Colin Sylvia.

"We think we've got a player who's ready to go," Melbourne football operations manager Josh Mahoney said.

"He's really excited about the opportunity to come to Melbourne, excited about reinventing himself if you like and really getting the most out of his footy for the next period of time."

Adelaide concede that they weren't prepared to offer Vince a deal to match Melbourne's.

"From a List Management perspective, we weren't prepared to offer Bernie a contract extension at this point in time," Adelaide list manager David Noble said.

"We understand Bernie's desire to secure his playing future long-term and after the great service he's given our footy club over a long period of time, we won't stand in his way."

Bernie Vince meets with Melbourne in a discussion that could form a potential trade between the Demons and the Crows.

Adelaide list manager says Bernie Vince is not up for trade.

"He's a best and fairest, Showdown medallist for us and he's contracted," Noble said.

"We think he really adds some depth in that midfield area … he actually won his best and fairest playing his best footy off the wing and half forward with rotation through the midfield.

"We haven't put him on the table at all in that sense. He's contracted."

Bernie Vince says the camaraderie amongst players at the Crows is the best it's been since he was recruited.

"I don't know whether it's because I've been here seven years now and I've seen most of the guys come through under me … [but] it's the closest I've been to any group since I've been at the club," Vince said.

"Guys who aren't getting a game are helping those who are getting a game, guys who are fighting for the same position are helping each other out at training and pointing things out they could do better

"It's just really unselfish stuff which is great."

Bernie Vince says the Crows could find a replacement internally if Kurt Tippett decided to leave the club.

"We can't have a say on whether he signs or not with us, so all we can do is make it as good as environment as we can for him and hope that he stays," Vince said.

"If he did move on we've got guys coming through that have performed really well, Josh Jenkins and these guys that are chomping at the bit to get a game.

"We have got to back up if things don't go well."

Adelaide midfielder Bernie Vince will will miss two to four weeks with a broken hand.

"Not the best of news but hopefully only miss 3 or 4 weeks. Gonna be hard watching but the boys are doing well," Vince tweeted.

After enduring a tough week where he was featured in the press for all the wrong reasons, Bernie Vince shines in the Crows' NAB Cup Grand Final clash against West Coast to take out the Michael Tuck medal for being best on ground.

"I thought I owed it to the group to play well and it was obviously good for the team to win," Vince said.

"I don't really think too much wider than the group and the footy club. I didn't obviously try to come out and get best or anything like that, but I…was going to give them my all tonight."

Adelaide veteran Michael Doughty has backed Bernie Vince to rebound from his latest off-field indiscretion where he was reported to have stripped down to his underpants in a hotel.

"We'll deal with Bernie internally in terms of improving that side of his life and he'll get better, he's a strong kid," Doughty said.

"He's just got to learn very quickly because you can't get away with that stuff anymore."

Bernie Vince will buy 60 tickets for Crows fans to the NAB Cup Grand Final as punishment for his weekend shenanigans.

Adelaide midfielder Bernie Vince is facing disciplinary action for stripping to his underwear in a hotel.

At the moment it looks like a silly action and the only other thing that is in our minds clearly is it's another silly action," Adelaide CEO Stephen Trigg said.

"Bernie will be dealt with strongly on this one way or another because it's inappropriate to be in a public place like that.

"In so many ways, Bernie is such a loved and integral part of our organisation. But the silliness that goes with it sometimes is a distraction to us."

Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson has banned midfielder Bernie Vince from playing in a local cricket grand final at his home of Stansbury on South Australia's Yorke Peninsula.

"He's played in eight grand finals in a row, but this week he'll be watching from the sidelines," Sanderson said.

"We're very close to the start of the season, we can't risk any players being exposed to any unnecessary risks."

Adelaide expects to close the book on Bernie Vince's late-night Christmas revelry when players and coaches return to the club.

"He shouldn't be out that late, so we'll speak to Bernie about it when everyone gets back," Crows football manager Phil Harper said.

"There isn't a (club-imposed) curfew, but it's a case of common sense prevails and don't be out too late when you're preparing for a football season - and 6am is too late."

Crows star Bernie Vince is part of a group thrown out of Adelaide's SkyCity casino while celebrating Christmas after a man urinated on a poker machine although Vince says his involvement in any incident was minimal.

"He wasn't my mate," Vince said.

"He knows someone I knew who was with us. Apparently he (urinated) somewhere he shouldn't have. I didn't see him do it. I don't see why I am involved."

Phil Davis becomes the third Adelaide player linked to GWS and Crows coach Neil Craig says the club cannot afford to lose any of them.

"I don't want to lose Phil Davis," Craig said on.

"It would be the same if we lost Taylor Walker. I want Taylor back in form, so he can continue his AFL career and improve at the rate that I think he can.

"We'd be worse off without Taylor, and it would be the same for Bernie Vince. We can't afford to lose any of those players, but we are [helpless] because of the rules."

Adelaide midfielder Bernie Vince will miss at least two weeks after straining a hamstring at training.

"It's disappointing for Bernie. What we asked him to do when he went back to the SANFL he did really well on the weekend," Crows assistant coach Ben Hart said.

"He worked on his running game … and was in line for a recall, so it's disappointing for him. Hopefully, it's not a bad one."

A degenerative knee problem similar to that suffered by Crows champion Andrew McLeod won't force star Crow Bernie Vince into early retirement according to Crows football operations manager Phil Harper.

"It's a bit similar to Andrew McLeod's injury, with the amount of cartilage left in Bernie's knee. It's an ongoing management issue, but he should be able to play for another six or seven years," Harper said.

"If Bernie could play 340 games and play until he was 34 years of age like Andrew did we'd be pretty happy. I don't envisage him playing until 34, but he should still get to age 30 pretty easily."

Adelaide midfielder Bernie Vince will be sidelined for the next month after undergoing minor surgery on the same knee he injured against Brisbane in round 20 of 2010.

"They had a look at it and did an arthroscope, which showed there was a bit more cartilage there, so they took it out," Crows football operations manager Phil Harper said.

"He was running pain-free for the whole of pre-season until last Thursday, but with the timing of the break we thought it was a good idea for Bernie to have it now.

"It's a setback, but he'll be able to be running again when the players come back in January. He just won't join in full training again until mid-January."

Adelaide midfielder Bernie Vince has had knee surgery and will not resume running for two months.

"All went well. I'm not running for two months though which will put me behind the eight ball a bit with pre-season, but I'll be sure to catch up quickly," Vince said.

Adelaide midfielder Bernie Vince says he will use his recent suspension as motivation to perform and improve.

"I want to show people that I deserve to be here still and that I can still perform here," Vince said.

"I did not think it was unfair. I fully accepted what the leadership group came up with. I had to explain to a lot of people it was a fair call. I knew the rules. I knew the consequences - and I have had to accept them."

Crows coach Neil Craig says Bernie Vince will be playing on an injured ankle for the rest of the season.

"That (ankle) won't be 100 per cent for the rest of the year but it's good enough to perform on," Craig said.

"If we had to wait for 100 per cent, he wouldn't play for the rest of the year, ankles tend to be like that. But he's doing all the training, and training at the level we want him to play at."

Adelaide coach Neil Craig has praised the decision to suspend three players in Graham Johncock, Bernie Vince and Matthew Jaensch for misbehaviour after the team rallied to beat Brisbane for just their second win this year.

"It'll be their choice now about the decisions they make, in terms of challenging the standards of our footy club irrespective of the results we're getting," he said.

"It's pretty clear what will happen at our footy club if you challenge them. Now, it's back to them for a response."

Bernie Vince says he is disappointed at having failed to meet team guidelines which led to his latest suspension.

"I feel like a dog for doing it," Vince said about having spent a late night out in Melbourne after a loss to the Kangaroos.

"There are guidelines about how you prepare for the next game. We know they are there. We set them up as a group - and we need to stick to them. We didn't stick to them - and that's not the right thing to do when you are 1-7."

Adelaide has revealed the reasons behind the suspensions of Bernie Vince, Matthew Jaensch and Graham Johncock.

Vince and Jaensch are said to have stayed out "beyond a reasonable time" following the Crows' loss to North Melbourne in Melbourne.

Johncock has been penalized for failing to attend a recovery session while recuperating from a shoulder injury.

"It would've been very easy for the leadership group to know that information and to sweep it under the carpet," Crows assistant coach David Noble said.

"At 1-7 we thought it was a very courageous and honest decision from the leadership group to come to us and say, 'these standards aren't what we're about'."

Bernie Vince, Matthew Jaensch and Graham Johncock have been handed a club suspension by the Crows senior leadership group for failing to meet "training and preparation standards".

Adelaide's Bernie Vince says he is starting to get tagged a lot more this year after a stellar 2009.

"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," Vince said.

"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."

Vince says captain and mentor Simon Goodwin has been instrumental in helping him deal with taggers this season.

"I still work pretty closely with Goody and he was the main driver behind that tagging practice over the pre-season. Sometimes it would be him that would come and tag me," he said.

"He'd act like a tagger; hang on to me and annoy the hell out of me, but I've certainly developed some good tools from what he's taught me."

Adelaide's club champion went down to the wire, with Bernie Vince eventually taking the prize and winning his first gold jacket and Malcolm Blight medal as the Crows' best and fairest for 2009 just ahead of runner-up Jason Porplyzia.

Adelaide best-and-fairest Bernie Vince says a helping hand from skipper Simon Goodwin prevented him from making an early AFL exit.

"Simon's been a great influence on my career. I was just cruising through the system a little bit in my first couple of years and I put almost everything I've achieved over the past couple of years down to what Simon Goodwin has done for me," Vince said.

"He got me out and made me train. Once he did that and said he believed in me I started to believe in myself. If it wasn't for Simon there's every chance I would've been out of the system and back home playing for Stansbury."

Kurt Tippett signs three-year contract extension with Adelaide to stave off overtures from the Gold Coast while veterans Brett Burton, Andrew McLeod, Simon Goodwin and Tyson Edwards re-sign to play on for one year.

The re-signings were announced at the club's 2009 best and fairest awards with club champion Bernie Vince saying he was always confident of Tippett staying.

"I was in Kurt's ear every day for him to stay. It came down to his decision, but I always had faith he would stay," Vince said.

"He gets on really well with everyone here and I even told people back home [in Stansbury] that I'd be really surprised if he left at any stage."

Adelaide midfielder Bernie Vince has become an elite performer, skipper Simon Goodwin says.

""Bernie's got enormous talent and what he has developed in his game is an unbelievable training ethic. He's developed into an elite player and it's been great to watch his development," Goodwin said.

"He's made some big sacrifices. He had a decision to make a couple of years ago about the work required to be a top AFL footballer and had made the decision that he wanted to do the hard work."

Adelaide coach Neil Craig says Vince's development is largely due to being mentored by Goodwin himself.

"A lot of that recognition goes to Simon for his mentoring. A lot of what you're seeing in Bernie Vince at the moment is very similar to the way Simon Goodwin plays his footy," Craig said.

"I think Bernie's been very lucky to be in an environment where he's had access to a Simon Goodwin."