Away from football fishbowls Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, prodigious talent Peter Wright has been afforded the luxury of developing away from prying eyes, away from those who want last year’s pick No. 8 to transform into a powerhouse overnight.
Key position players take time. They simply cannot do what they did during their underage careers at the next level. The development process can be slow, but the rewards are rich because key forwards and key defenders are match winners, they are the most important players on the ground.
After receiving a long awaited taste of senior football last month, Wright has returned to the NEAFL a different player. In adverse circumstances, the Calder Cannons product debuted against Fremantle and played the following week against Sydney. Talk about a baptism of fire.
Since returning to the reserves after the bye, the 19-year-old has kicked 13 goals in three weeks, including a bag of 6.1 and 12 marks against Sydney University a fortnight ago and a haul of four goals and ten marks at Southport on the weekend.
An exposure to the best has seen Wright’s development come on in leaps and bounds, with reserves coach Josh Fraser not only pleased with his first up efforts against the Dockers and Swans, but more impressed with his response since returning to the NEAFL.
“Importantly he came back to the reserves and looked like he’d grown another leg in terms of confidence. He’s responded to coming out of the team really well and I think he’s given himself a better chance when he gets a call up to be better prepared again,” Fraser told goldcoastfc.com.au on Thursday.
“The assessment on those games was really promising. For any player playing against the team on top of the ladder in their debut and you throw wet conditions into the mix as a key forward it was always going to be difficult.
“But I think watching the game closely, you would have got a good insight into the potential and the future that he is going to have with us. He moved well, he didn’t look out of place.
“At one stage he took a really nice mark on Luke McPharlin who is a 250-game plus defender and I think the conditions restricted his output because the ball was flowing how most key forward would like.
“I think the hard part for a key forward in his first few games is you’re heavily reliant on what happens up field. I think the real focus for Pete was his work ethic, his ability to get to get to contests. He certainly looked at home and looked like he fit in around our forward structure as well.”
Given the amount of time and resources invested into recruiting and list management in the modern era, top ten picks are typically banked on players who have an enormous desire to be the best. Wright fits into this category. From a long way out, he was touted as high draftee, with some suggesting at one stage that he might be the first player taken in last year’s draft.
Ambition, aptitude for work, relentlessness and professionalism are characteristics usually associated with players taken in the first round. It is not always the case, but the majority typically fit into this category and Wright is cut from this cloth.
Since landing at Metricon Stadium at the end of November, Wright has worked closely with Fraser and the football department to improve areas of his game that are susceptible at the highest level.
During his time in the TAC Cup, he was able to outmuscle and out-maneuverer opponents due to his sheer size. At AFL level he can no longer do this, yet. Now, the focus has been on honing his craft as a key forward; how he moves across the ground, his starting points and how best to use his frame.
“He’s made some massive gains in terms of his development and I think importantly, he’s been a young player that wanted to really buy into getting better. As a coach it’s been great to work with him,” Fraser said.
“But I think there was some specific areas of his game that we probably targeted with a view of him playing AFL footy and I guess as a big kid coming out of the under 18s, he’s always had size advantage and he probably got away with things through his talent and size that he wouldn’t get away with at AFL level or even NEAFL level.
“So we’ve worked really hard on some leading patterns, some forward line play, his ability to use his body, ability to take contested marks and those sorts of things. There’s been some really big growth in those areas.
“He’s still hasn’t quite found consistency with that but he’s certainly a lot more consistent than what he was, and with him buying into that part of it, it’s made the process quicker and he’s a hard worker as well which helps. I think we’re starting to see some reward for the development and the inroads he’s been able to make.”
With eight weeks remaining in the home and away season, Wright’s recent run of form is putting his name firmly in the discussion for a recall to the senior side. Charlie Dixon and Tom Lynch command the two main positions in attack, but Dixon’s recent ankle troubles might open the door for more exposure for Wright in the closing stages of 2015.
Regardless of where Wright plays his football in the next two months, Fraser believes the young key forward needs to continue to work on his consistency across all areas of his craft.
“His form’s probably warranting a discussion at the moment, obviously Lynch and Dixon they have been our key posts up forward. But Pete’s form has been really strong in the twos,” Fraser said.
“I think in terms of areas of improvement in his game, it’s just a continual work in progress. Until he gets consistent with things like his leading patterns, his ability to get separation, playing at a higher intensity – all those sorts of things – that’s going to take time.
“He’s certainly putting that into practice on the weekends and he’s getting good results. He can take marks inside 50, he can get up on the wing, he can kick goals, so he does all the things you want from a key forward and I’m sure he’s name each week will be discussed from here on in if he keeps performing the way he has been.”
