Peter Wright (Australian footballer)
Peter Wright (born 7 September 1996) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having been initially drafted to the Gold Coast Suns with pick 8 in the 2014 AFL draft.

AFL career

Gold Coast: 2015–2020
Wright established himself as a key marking forward, using his considerable height to his advantage. Wright made his debut in round 10 2015, kicking a goal in a losing effort against . In round 11 2017, Wright kicked the winning goal against  for the Suns first win against the Eagles. After his debut season, Wright became a regular of the team, barely missing a game. In 2018, he suffered a knee injury that required re-hab. Wright played 17 out of a possible 22 games in season 2019, but the emergence of Ben King in 2019 and the return of Zac Smith meant Wright wasn't able to get a game in 2020.

Essendon: 2021–
After six years at the Suns, he was traded to  for more opportunities after the 2020 AFL season. Wright made an immediate impact becoming a lock in Essendons forward line in the 2021 season. His best performance was in Round 21 where Wright kicked seven goals against the Western Bulldogs in a 13-point win.
 In round 8 of the  2022 AFL season he kicked 6 goals in the Bombers’ win over Hawthorn. In Round 14 Wright starred in their upset win against St Kilda, achieving four goals and 14 disposals.
At the conclusion of the 2022 season , Wright was named Essendon Best and Fairest winning the prestigious Crichton Medal as well as the clubs Leading Goal Kicker award for his impressive 53 goal haul.

On 17 March, before Round 1 of the 2023 AFL season, Wright dislocated his shoulder during training after landing awkwardly in a marking contest and has since had a reconstruction of his shoulder.

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2023 season

|-
| 2015 ||  || 30
| 3 || 1 || 1 || 12 || 5 || 17 || 8 || 3 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 4.0 || 1.7 || 5.7 || 2.7 || 1.0 || 0
|-
| 2016 ||  || 30
| 17 || 27 || 10 || 106 || 89 || 195 || 83 || 27 || 1.6 || 0.6 || 6.2 || 5.2 || 11.5 || 4.9 || 1.6 || 3
|-
| 2017 ||  || 30
| 22 || 31 || 19 || 159 || 117 || 276 || 121 || 35 || 1.4 || 0.9 || 7.2 || 5.3 || 12.6 || 5.5 || 1.6 || 0
|- 
| 2018 ||  || 30
| 7 || 5 || 4 || 43 || 29 || 72 || 33 || 18 || 0.7 || 0.6 || 6.1 || 4.1 || 10.3 || 4.7 || 2.6 || 0
|-
| 2019 ||  || 30
| 17 || 21 || 13 || 144 || 60 || 204 || 85 || 26 || 1.2 || 0.8 || 8.5 || 3.5 || 12.0 || 5.0 || 1.5 || 0
|- 
| 2020 ||  || 30
| 0 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || –
|-
| 2021 ||  || 20
| 21 || 29 || 14 || 146 || 100 || 246 || 90 || 37 || 1.4 || 0.7 || 6.9 || 4.8 || 11.7 || 4.3 || 1.8 || 5
|- 
| 2022 ||  || 20
| 22 || 53 || 26 || 181 || 63 || 244 || 128 || 15 || 2.4 || 1.2 || 8.2 || 2.9 || 11.1 || 5.8 || 0.7 || 8
|- 
| 2023 ||  || 20
| 10 || 19 || 10 || 64 || 32 || 96 || 44 || 13 || 1.9 || 1.0 || 6.4 || 3.2 || 9.6 || 4.4 || 1.3 || 
|- class="sortbottom"
! colspan=3| Career
! 119 !! 186 !! 97 !! 855 !! 495 !! 1350 !! 592 !! 174 !! 1.6 !! 0.8 !! 7.2 !! 4.2 !! 11.3 !! 5.0 !! 1.5 !! 16
|}

References

External links

1996 births
Living people
Gold Coast Football Club players
Essendon Football Club players
Calder Cannons players
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)