Wright not fussed with Daniher comparisons

Peter Wright won’t concern himself with expectations that he will be outgoing star Joe Daniher’s direct replacement in the Essendon forward line.

Instead, the former top-10 draft selection will focus on cementing his spot in the Bombers’ side and producing his best football after being traded by Gold Coast for a lowly future fourth-round pick.

“I’ll obviously play a similar role (to Daniher), but I’m not going to read too much into that,” Wright told reporters on Tuesday.

“I’ll just try to play my best football and I think I’ve still got a lot of improvement to come.

“All my energy will be channelled towards the motivation to get the best out of myself.”

Wright, who was taken at pick eight in the 2014 draft, had two years to run on his Gold Coast contract and has signed with Essendon until the end of 2023.

The Suns will reportedly continue to pay some of his wage, making the deal even more attractive to the Bombers.

The 203cm forward-ruck kicked 85 goals in 66 games for Gold Coast before losing his spot in 2020 as Sam Day and young gun Ben King filled the key forward posts.

“I’m working hard and even though I wasn’t playing at the level I wanted to this year, I still see a lot of growth in my game,” Wright said.

“I’m starting to really understand my game and what I believe is my best football and understand how I can go about achieving that on a weekly basis.”

Essendon have plenty of trade balls still in the air ahead of Thursday’s deadline, with Adam Saad and Orazio Fantasia possibly headed for the exit door.

Josh Dunkley (Western Bulldogs) and Jye Caldwell (GWS) are targets who could join Wright at the Bombers.

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