Gold Coast’s number one focus over the next 12 months must be keeping Peter Wright.
Wright is the single most important re-signing the club can make at this point in time, even more so than co-captains Tom Lynch and Steven May.
The 2018 season has been a strange one for Wright, who, despite being in the best 22, had to play five NEAFL games on his way back to the senior team after recovering from injury.
The 21-year-old is an elite talent who truly has the potential to be one of the league’s top key forwards with absolutely no fanfare surrounding his game.
Wright has a solid fitness base and offers a lot up the ground for the Suns, which has resulted in him playing different roles depending on the opposition.
Against Sydney he was simply fantastic. Wright finished with 20 disposals and nine marks, including 13 contested possessions, as well as laying an elite four tackles.
In the loss to Carlton in Round 18 he had nine disposals, 11 contested possessions, eight hit-outs and two goals, proving to be the club’s only dangerous prospect in attack.
Going back to 2017, his only full season at senior level, Wright kicked at least a goal in all but three matches and worked well as part of a duo and on his lonesome.
(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
The 203-centimetre forward was taken with the eighth pick of the 2014 draft, yet his 48 games and overall development have flown under the radar simply due to the club he plays for .
Touk Miller is the next captain of the Suns, which will keep him at the club, and his leadership will drive younger midfielders to stay with Gold Coast.
All Wright needs is good service in order for him to turn himself into a consistent high-performing key forward. The club’s needs and Wright’s needs go hand in hand.
For the Suns to elevate themselves from the ‘poor’ bracket for the first time in AFL history the club needs to hold onto its younger players, which has been an obvious issue in the past.
Stuart Dew was the right appointment for this job and he obviously needs time to settle in.
The aforementioned Miller from the outside appears to be a strong-willed character who can help Dew instigate cultural change within the four walls of the club.
Perhaps Lynch leaving is the best result for the Suns as it frees up room to re-sign Wright and allows for the club to move forward with its changing of the guard without media negativity surrounding them.
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Wright can be the face of the Gold Coast Suns and Miller the leader.
As a guide for what Wright could produce on the field, it is entirely relevant to take a look at the 2015 version of Kurt Tippett, who averaged 12 disposals, four marks, three tackles, 17 hit-outs and 44 goals in his 22 games.
Wright can average more disposals and marks than what Tippett in this particular season, but ultimately Tippett was elite in 2015 and played a similar role to what Gold Coast’s young star can perform.
For all the love surrounding the competition’s young key forwards like Charlie Curnow, Eric Hipwood and Josh Schache, none of them can produce what Wright should be able to in the next year.
The upside here is tremendous for the Suns, and it would be simply irresponsible to let this one slip through their fingers.
Lynch is gone and May could well be on the way out over the next 12 months, but if the Suns appoint Touk Miller as their captain and re-sign the emerging forward, Gold Coast will be certainly heading in the Wright direction.
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