AFL Player #20: Peter Wright - High-grade ankle injury, out for a while - 10/3

[Lore]

Contract Status: Free Agent (?) 2027
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 21, TheGrizz

 

[I Remember Bluey]

‘Stand-off’ tipped for Bazlenka deal; fight for Pies forward ‘a lot tighter’ as call looms — Trade Whispers

‘Stand-off’ tipped for high-profile move; Pie fight ‘a lot tighter’ as final call looms — Trade Whispers

www.foxsports.com.au

TWO-METRE PETER GOING NOWHERE

Despite rival interest, Essendon key forward Peter Wright won’t be taking off from Tullamarine.


According to his manager Tom McConville, the 28-year-old spearhead doesn’t have plans to leave this off-season.

“Peter Wright will stay at Essendon; he is not going anywhere. Clubs asked the question, but he is keen to stay,” McConville told AFL Trade Radio on Wednesday.

Wright played just 14 senior games this season after falling out of favour with Brad Scott’s match committee, not playing again after Round 20 after the Bombers continued with their combination of Kyle Langford

4

Kyle Langford

Age

28

Ht

192cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.7

4star

K

8.3

3star

HB

7.3

5star

M

3.9

4star

T

3.3

5star

G

0.7

4star

D

17.4

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

8.4

4star

M

4.4

4star

T

1.6

3star

G

0.7

4star

D

8.2

2star

K

3.2

2star

HB

5.0

4star

M

2.0

3star

T

2.6

4star

G

0.6

3star

, Nate Caddy and Harrison Jones.

 

[Cold Sober]

If Stringer and Wright go, so should Scott.

 

[Test Tickle]

If Stringer and Wright go, so should Scott.

I'd love to see Stringer fit.

 

[div12ressie]

I'd love to see Stringer fit.

we've seen him fit this year and seen him have a lot of hissy fits too

 

[RedmanWasHere]

BUMP!

Add "fiance" to his list of happenings.

 

[Bombers36]

It seems Peter has slipped down the pecking order & Bryan/Draper is the favoured ruck combo at the present. Bryan starting ruck with Draper primarily forward and Caddy & Langford the other key forward targets. Jones can provide flexibility off the bench as another tall forward option.
I dont have an issue with that sort of set up - like many on here have said 2MP has been well down on form only kicking more than 2 goals in a game once since July 23 (against an undermanned Kangaroo defence…) and he seems bereft of confidence at this point in time. He needs to string together some big goal hauls in the reserves before coming back into senior contention - I wouldn’t write him off just yet though…

 

[supportyourteam]

Yet to mentally return. Hope he does.

 

[Mercurial89]

View attachment 2207957
Yet to mentally return. Hope he does.

That hit and the fallout from it undid all the work mentally he had done to become "the guy" prior.

It's going to take strong coaching and support from his team mates to build that back up, and a little luck.

 

[King Patty]

That hit and the fallout from it undid all the work mentally he had done to become "the guy" prior.

It's going to take strong coaching and support from his team mates to build that back up, and a little luck.

Put it into his contract that he gets a bonus if suspended from marking collisions.
Need to make him want to hit the contest as hard as he can.

 

[supportyourteam]

I guess it did get Jones back in and go on to have a decent season. He (Jones) did look completely at sea the previous week against Hawthorn.

 

[bombreys]

It seems Peter has slipped down the pecking order & Bryan/Draper is the favoured ruck combo at the present. Bryan starting ruck with Draper primarily forward and Caddy & Langford the other key forward targets. Jones can provide flexibility off the bench as another tall forward option.
I dont have an issue with that sort of set up - like many on here have said 2MP has been well down on form only kicking more than 2 goals in a game once since July 23 (against an undermanned Kangaroo defence…) and he seems bereft of confidence at this point in time. He needs to string together some big goal hauls in the reserves before coming back into senior contention - I wouldn’t write him off just yet though…

Good point. He'll end up playing some AFL footy if he's not already in the side Round 1.

To put it into perspective, Draper & Bryan combine have average less than 13 games per year thus far. If he's not a Round 1 starter, his chance will come.

 

[Blind Turn]

It seems Peter has slipped down the pecking order & Bryan/Draper is the favoured ruck combo at the present. Bryan starting ruck with Draper primarily forward and Caddy & Langford the other key forward targets. Jones can provide flexibility off the bench as another tall forward option.
I dont have an issue with that sort of set up - like many on here have said 2MP has been well down on form only kicking more than 2 goals in a game once since July 23 (against an undermanned Kangaroo defence…) and he seems bereft of confidence at this point in time. He needs to string together some big goal hauls in the reserves before coming back into senior contention - I wouldn’t write him off just yet though…

The real conundrum for us is what the hell do we do with Bryan when he’s not rucking? He’d be a liability resting forward and would limit the flexibility of our bench if he’s resting there. I don’t want him in the 22 if he’s a liability. He’d need to be a top tier first ruck to warrant that sort of allowance in the 22. A fit, confident Wright who pinch hits in the ruck appeals far more to me than a limited, one-dimensional ruckman like Bryan. He’s got to start dominating more than he does at VFL level.

 

[jdstorm]

The real conundrum for us is what the hell do we do with Bryan when he’s not rucking? He’d be a liability resting forward and would limit the flexibility of our bench if he’s resting there. I don’t want him in the 22 if he’s a liability. He’d need to be a top tier first ruck to warrant that sort of allowance in the 22. A fit, confident Wright who pinch hits in the ruck appeals far more to me than a limited, one-dimensional ruckman like Bryan. He’s got to start dominating more than he does at VFL level.

Put him on the bench. Maybe some KPD

Most teams carry 1 ruck and 1 ruck/forward

Wright and Draper have both shown to be better part time rucks than full time rucks.

Why does he (Bryan) have to do better at VFL level when he just won best ruck in the comp and the guys in front of him (Draper and Wright) are mediocre.

He’s the no1 ruck on the team.

 

[Blind Turn]

Put him on the bench. Maybe some KPD

Most teams carry 1 ruck and 1 ruck/forward

Wright and Draper have both shown to be better part time rucks than full time rucks.

Why does he (Bryan) have to do better at VFL level when he just won best ruck in the comp and the guys in front of him (Draper and Wright) are mediocre.

He’s the no1 ruck on the team.

If you’re going to be no 1 ruck and not have a second string to your bow you’d want to show more than he has at VFL level. His performances have been fine, don’t get me wrong. He has played well, but it’s based mainly on tap work. He’s not that impressive around the ground and doesn’t dominate games. To supplant Draper he needs to be stepping up because he’s not showing any superior 1st ruck traits that would be better for us than having Draper’s follow-up game in there.

 

[boncer34]

If you’re going to be no 1 ruck and not have a second string to your bow you’d want to show more than he has at VFL level. His performances have been fine, don’t get me wrong. He has played well, but it’s based mainly on tap work. He’s not that impressive around the ground and doesn’t dominate games. To supplant Draper he needs to be stepping up because he’s not showing any superior 1st ruck traits that would be better for us than having Draper’s follow-up game in there.

Last year Bryan got more of the ball than Draper and laid more tackles.

Draper of course kicked more goals due to moving forward but in terms of around the ground follow up work, Bryan's not miles behind him.

 

[jdstorm]

If you’re going to be no 1 ruck and not have a second string to your bow you’d want to show more than he has at VFL level. His performances have been fine, don’t get me wrong. He has played well, but it’s based mainly on tap work. He’s not that impressive around the ground and doesn’t dominate games. To supplant Draper he needs to be stepping up because he’s not showing any superior 1st ruck traits that would be better for us than having Draper’s follow-up game in there.

By SuperCoach points average last season neither were top 18 rucks by average points. Draper saw an uptick in points once he started playing forward. But as far as his points per minute went he was a mediocre to bottom tier AFL ruck in his best stretch of games.

No point focusing on elite traits if the overall performance isn’t there.

Bryan was voted the best ruck in the VFL last year and has earned the right to progress. He may never be an elite ruck but that’s okay. To get minutes on this team he doesn’t have to be. He’s earned the right to more opportunity.

Draper and Wright both have elite traits but also large weaknesses. Draper his skill, kicking and game sense. Wright his physicality.

Draper gets the nod as FF because this team needs his physicality close to goal more then it needs wrights elite long kicking.

 

[Blind Turn]

By SuperCoach points average last season neither were top 18 rucks by average points. Draper saw an uptick in points once he started playing forward. But as far as his points per minute went he was a mediocre to bottom tier AFL ruck in his best stretch of games.

No point focusing on elite traits if the overall performance isn’t there.

Bryan was voted the best ruck in the VFL last year and has earned the right to progress. He may never be an elite ruck but that’s okay. To get minutes on this team he doesn’t have to be. He’s earned the right to more opportunity.

Draper and Wright both have elite traits but also large weaknesses. Draper his skill, kicking and game sense. Wright his physicality.

Draper gets the nod as FF because this team needs his physicality close to goal more then it needs wrights elite long kicking.

Bryan has no right to the number 1 ruck spot if it is detrimental to the overall team balance. He needs to be controlling the ruck position or he’s worthless to us. He’s yet to show that he has the tools to be a dominant first ruck. Sure he deserves a chance to show it in the preseason but on the evidence of last season he is only showing us that he has improved, not that he is the answer.

 

[Blind Turn]

Last year Bryan got more of the ball than Draper and laid more tackles.

Draper of course kicked more goals due to moving forward but in terms of around the ground follow up work, Bryan's not miles behind him.

Draper has that rare ability of bringing directness and incisiveness to our play which is a fantastic trait to have. He also took several timely late-game contested makes to deny forays forward by the opposition that might’ve won them the game. Bryan hasn’t shown a slither of this in his game yet. It’s about moments and clutch plays that has Draper well ahead of Bryan.

 

[jdstorm]

Bryan has no right to the number 1 ruck spot if it is detrimental to the overall team balance. He needs to be controlling the ruck position or he’s worthless to us. He’s yet to show that he has the tools to be a dominant first ruck. Sure he deserves a chance to show it in the preseason but on the evidence of last season he is only showing us that he has improved, not that he is the answer.

By that definition none of our rucks are the answer.

Analytics tend to suggest that a dominant ruck isn’t all that important in winning a flag.

Being good enough is fine.

As far as secondary positions go with Bryan. If push comes to shove I’d say KPD is the right spot. Having him rotate through there would allow Ridley to play 100% of his TOG at 3rd tall and that’s a nice structural advantage

Edit: given how many games Draper missed and how many games we won the back half of the season I don’t think that clutch sample size is all that large.

And who can forget his brain fade vs Adelaide lying all over the ball and luckily not being penalised for it

 

[Blind Turn]

By that definition none of our rucks are the answer.

Analytics tend to suggest that a dominant ruck isn’t all that important in winning a flag.

Being good enough is fine.

As far as secondary positions go with Bryan. If push comes to shove I’d say KPD is the right spot. Having him rotate through there would allow Ridley to play 100% of his TOG at 3rd tall and that’s a nice structural advantage

Edit: given how many games Draper missed and how many games we won the back half of the season I don’t think that clutch sample size is all that large.

And who can forget his brain fade vs Adelaide lying all over the ball and luckily not being penalised for it

Draper has game-saving and game-winning attributes. He also gets us moving forward and lifts the energy of the team. Ironing out his brain-farts is the key. I don’t know if it’s possible but the upside is huge.

I’m not sure where you’re seeing a KPD in Bryan. Sounds like another liability situation to me.

 

[jdstorm]

Draper has game-saving and game-winning attributes. He also gets us moving forward and lifts the energy of the team. Ironing out his brain-farts is the key. I don’t know if it’s possible but the upside is huge.

I’m not sure where you’re seeing a KPD in Bryan. Sounds like another liability situation to me.

I think a lot of what’s required of a ruck is also required of a KPD (and Forward) use strength to hold space/contested marks. Read the play. Drop back into space ect.

Bryan has the length and strength to spoil against a KPF plus he’s a good ball user. One of McKay/Reid would always take the harder option and Ridley would be loose in support so I think it works.

Draper has his moments of brilliance and he’s good for energy but he’s just not reliable. That’s why I like him close to goal

Takes the oppos most physical defender which gives Langford an easier matchup and will get a brilliant energy goal or two just by being close to goal when inspiration strikes.

Hopefully midfield gut running/straightening comes from Tsatas and Durham

 

[faible]

Bryan is the kind of ruck that will play high % game time in there, giving our midfielders predictability and provide a solid link-up option through the middle of the ground. His actual football skills are quite good for a big man.

He probably won't take mark or goal of the year.

Wright at his best is a far better forward than Draper, and is a solid 2-3 year option as a FWD / RUC alongside one of Draper or Bryan.

Draper seems to get valued on his best handful of moments because they're flashy, whereas Wright and Bryan get judged on their boringness because they aren't flashy.

Wright (if fit) will give you 1.5 - 2.5 goals a game and cover your ruckman while he's resting. There's no guarantee Draper can do that each week even if his highlight reel will be better.

 

[jdstorm]

Bryan is the kind of ruck that will play high % game time in there, giving our midfielders predictability and provide a solid link-up option through the middle of the ground. His actual football skills are quite good for a big man.

He probably won't take mark or goal of the year.

Wright at his best is a far better forward than Draper, and is a solid 2-3 year option as a FWD / RUC alongside one of Draper or Bryan.

Draper seems to get valued on his best handful of moments because they're flashy, whereas Wright and Bryan get judged on their boringness because they aren't flashy.

Wright (if fit) will give you 1.5 - 2.5 goals a game and cover your ruckman while he's resting. There's no guarantee Draper can do that each week even if his highlight reel will be better.

Big issue with wright vs Draper as forwards is team construction

Wright is a 2nd or 3rd option tall forward. Likes hanging out on the arc. Marking on a lead and bombing long goals.

He’s poor at holding space/bringing the ball to ground in contested situations.

Drapers a 6th option forward but is strong, can hold position under an high ball, and can crash a pack and can bring it to ground.

Essendon doesn’t have another player on the list that can do what Draper does as a forward.

Caddy/jones/cox can largely do what wright does at CHF but with better defensive mobility

So while wright is better he’s a worse fit as far as the team goes

 

[fairbump_playon]

Big issue with wright vs Draper as forwards is team construction

Wright is a 2nd or 3rd option tall forward. Likes hanging out on the arc. Marking on a lead and bombing long goals.

He’s poor at holding space/bringing the ball to ground in contested situations.

Drapers a 6th option forward but is strong, can hold position under an high ball, and can crash a pack and can bring it to ground.

Essendon doesn’t have another player on the list that can do what Draper does as a forward.

Caddy/jones/cox can largely do what wright does at CHF but with better defensive mobility

So while wright is better he’s a worse fit as far as the team goes

Agree with this

Wright is incredibly frustrating given the gap between his talent & impact

And the one time he actually crashes a pack, he gets 6 weeks and loses his nerve forever

 

[jdstorm]

Agree with this

Wright is incredibly frustrating given the gap between his talent & impact

And the one time he actually crashes a pack, he gets 6 weeks and loses his nerve forever

The really wild thing about wright is that his impact is good. He’s actually quite productive. It’s just when you see the glimpses you think he should be twice as good as he is.

On another team with a different list balance he’d be so good. Get 10 marks he should take a game drop 5 and still get 3 goals a game