Essendon are a chance to drop key forward and 2022 best and fairest Peter Wright for Friday night’s crucial game against Adelaide, as the Bombers deal with team balance issues.
And the Bombers are likely to bring back midfielder Ben Hobbs for Friday night, bolstering a midfield that was beaten by Melbourne in the wet last Saturday.
Wright, who struggled against the Demons and has not risen to the heights of his superb 2022 season, is under pressure to retain his spot, according to a club source who spoke on condition of anonymity. This is in part because of Essendon’s difficulty in accommodating two rucks plus Wright, Harrison Jones, talented youngster Nate Caddy and Kyle Langford in the same team.
Form slump: Peter Wright.Credit: AFL Photos
The Bombers played Wright as the second ruck – coach Brad Scott usually prefers two rucks – against the Demons, with Sam Draper taking the major ruck role.
But if Wright is dropped, he would be replaced by veteran Todd Goldstein, which would mean the Bombers would field a forward line with Jones, Caddy and Langford as tall or medium targets, plus the explosive talents of Jake Stringer.
Wright’s numbers, while down on 2022 in particular, are still more than respectable if he is judged as a forward who plays as the second ruck, rather than as a primary key forward. The Dons are excited by Caddy’s potential given his athleticism and marking ability, although he is 193 centimetres and not one of the new prototypes of very tall forwards who are near 200 centimetres.
Wright, 27, has booted 19 goals in his 13 games this year, his 2023 having been restricted by a shoulder injury that led to him missing 13 of Essendon’s 23 games. He crossed from Gold Coast at the end of 2020 in what was effectively a salary-cap dump by the Suns – who received only a late selection for the former top 10 pick – and a bargain for the Bombers.
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Hobbs performed strongly in the VFL and is in line for a recall to a midfield in which Sam Durham and Jye Caldwell have become key cogs alongside the metronomic consistency of skipper Zach Merrett.
Meanwhile, Hawthorn are likely to bring back gadfly small forward Jack Ginnivan for their clash with Collingwood, Ginnivan’s old team, in what would be the forward’s first game against the Magpies in Melbourne, the teams having met in Gather Round in Adelaide earlier this year when the premiers survived a late challenge by the insurgent Hawks.