Latest news with #Bombers'
The Advertiser
28-05-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
What Essendon forward learned from shock axing
Towering Essendon forward Peter Wright believes he has bounced back from a shock axing last year with better "clarity" in his game. After booting 52 goals in 2022 to claim the Bombers' Crichton Medal, Wright endured a tough 2024 that included being dropped late in the season. The 28-year-old missed four games through suspension for a bump gone wrong on Sydney defender Harry Cunningham in round two. After returning, Wright only had brief moments close to his best and described the campaign as "challenging". "Not too many people who play footy ever have it all their own way," he told AAP. "I wasn't playing my best footy last year; a little bit inconsistent and probably a little bit indecisive out there. "So I feel like I got some much better clarity." An ankle issue delayed his start to 2025, but Wright bounced back immediately on return with a superb six-goal haul in a tight win against West Coast in round six. "I had a really strong off-season, pre-season, to get the body in good shape," Wright said. "I had a little bit of a hiccup with the ankle, but physically feeling good and eventually just getting some more clarity and wanting to build on that." Wright's presence will be vital in an Essendon team experiencing an injury crisis, particularly to key position players. First-choice rucks Sam Draper and Nick Bryan suffered season-ending injuries, meaning veteran Todd Goldstein has had to step up to be the Bombers' No.1 big man. Wright is giving important help to Goldstein as a back-up ruck, as well as being a presence up forward. Crafty forward Kyle Langford (quad) and breakout defender Zach Reid (hamstring) will both be out for up to six weeks after hurting themselves in the Dreamtime win against Richmond last Friday. Teenage defender Zak Johnson has already been confirmed to be Essendon's seventh debutant of the season, selected to play against reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Thursday night. "We clearly want to have, like every team, the next man up mentality," Wright said. "We're going to have to rely on our depth as a playing list, but the flip side has been the positives in being able to play (seven) debutants this year. "Who knows, we might build on that in coming weeks." Towering Essendon forward Peter Wright believes he has bounced back from a shock axing last year with better "clarity" in his game. After booting 52 goals in 2022 to claim the Bombers' Crichton Medal, Wright endured a tough 2024 that included being dropped late in the season. The 28-year-old missed four games through suspension for a bump gone wrong on Sydney defender Harry Cunningham in round two. After returning, Wright only had brief moments close to his best and described the campaign as "challenging". "Not too many people who play footy ever have it all their own way," he told AAP. "I wasn't playing my best footy last year; a little bit inconsistent and probably a little bit indecisive out there. "So I feel like I got some much better clarity." An ankle issue delayed his start to 2025, but Wright bounced back immediately on return with a superb six-goal haul in a tight win against West Coast in round six. "I had a really strong off-season, pre-season, to get the body in good shape," Wright said. "I had a little bit of a hiccup with the ankle, but physically feeling good and eventually just getting some more clarity and wanting to build on that." Wright's presence will be vital in an Essendon team experiencing an injury crisis, particularly to key position players. First-choice rucks Sam Draper and Nick Bryan suffered season-ending injuries, meaning veteran Todd Goldstein has had to step up to be the Bombers' No.1 big man. Wright is giving important help to Goldstein as a back-up ruck, as well as being a presence up forward. Crafty forward Kyle Langford (quad) and breakout defender Zach Reid (hamstring) will both be out for up to six weeks after hurting themselves in the Dreamtime win against Richmond last Friday. Teenage defender Zak Johnson has already been confirmed to be Essendon's seventh debutant of the season, selected to play against reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Thursday night. "We clearly want to have, like every team, the next man up mentality," Wright said. "We're going to have to rely on our depth as a playing list, but the flip side has been the positives in being able to play (seven) debutants this year. "Who knows, we might build on that in coming weeks." Towering Essendon forward Peter Wright believes he has bounced back from a shock axing last year with better "clarity" in his game. After booting 52 goals in 2022 to claim the Bombers' Crichton Medal, Wright endured a tough 2024 that included being dropped late in the season. The 28-year-old missed four games through suspension for a bump gone wrong on Sydney defender Harry Cunningham in round two. After returning, Wright only had brief moments close to his best and described the campaign as "challenging". "Not too many people who play footy ever have it all their own way," he told AAP. "I wasn't playing my best footy last year; a little bit inconsistent and probably a little bit indecisive out there. "So I feel like I got some much better clarity." An ankle issue delayed his start to 2025, but Wright bounced back immediately on return with a superb six-goal haul in a tight win against West Coast in round six. "I had a really strong off-season, pre-season, to get the body in good shape," Wright said. "I had a little bit of a hiccup with the ankle, but physically feeling good and eventually just getting some more clarity and wanting to build on that." Wright's presence will be vital in an Essendon team experiencing an injury crisis, particularly to key position players. First-choice rucks Sam Draper and Nick Bryan suffered season-ending injuries, meaning veteran Todd Goldstein has had to step up to be the Bombers' No.1 big man. Wright is giving important help to Goldstein as a back-up ruck, as well as being a presence up forward. Crafty forward Kyle Langford (quad) and breakout defender Zach Reid (hamstring) will both be out for up to six weeks after hurting themselves in the Dreamtime win against Richmond last Friday. Teenage defender Zak Johnson has already been confirmed to be Essendon's seventh debutant of the season, selected to play against reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Thursday night. "We clearly want to have, like every team, the next man up mentality," Wright said. "We're going to have to rely on our depth as a playing list, but the flip side has been the positives in being able to play (seven) debutants this year. "Who knows, we might build on that in coming weeks."
West Australian
28-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
What Essendon forward learned from shock axing
Towering Essendon forward Peter Wright believes he has bounced back from a shock axing last year with better "clarity" in his game. After booting 52 goals in 2022 to claim the Bombers' Crichton Medal, Wright endured a tough 2024 that included being dropped late in the season. The 28-year-old missed four games through suspension for a bump gone wrong on Sydney defender Harry Cunningham in round two. After returning, Wright only had brief moments close to his best and described the campaign as "challenging". "Not too many people who play footy ever have it all their own way," he told AAP. "I wasn't playing my best footy last year; a little bit inconsistent and probably a little bit indecisive out there. "So I feel like I got some much better clarity." An ankle issue delayed his start to 2025, but Wright bounced back immediately on return with a superb six-goal haul in a tight win against West Coast in round six. Teenage defender Zak Johnson has already been confirmed to be Essendon's seventh debutant of the season, selected to play against reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Thursday night. "We clearly want to have, like every team, the next man up mentality," Wright said. "We're going to have to rely on our depth as a playing list, but the flip side has been the positives in being able to play (seven) debutants this year. "Who knows, we might build on that in coming weeks."
Perth Now
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
What Essendon forward learned from shock axing
Towering Essendon forward Peter Wright believes he has bounced back from a shock axing last year with better "clarity" in his game. After booting 52 goals in 2022 to claim the Bombers' Crichton Medal, Wright endured a tough 2024 that included being dropped late in the season. The 28-year-old missed four games through suspension for a bump gone wrong on Sydney defender Harry Cunningham in round two. After returning, Wright only had brief moments close to his best and described the campaign as "challenging". "Not too many people who play footy ever have it all their own way," he told AAP. "I wasn't playing my best footy last year; a little bit inconsistent and probably a little bit indecisive out there. "So I feel like I got some much better clarity." An ankle issue delayed his start to 2025, but Wright bounced back immediately on return with a superb six-goal haul in a tight win against West Coast in round six. Teenage defender Zak Johnson has already been confirmed to be Essendon's seventh debutant of the season, selected to play against reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Thursday night. "We clearly want to have, like every team, the next man up mentality," Wright said. "We're going to have to rely on our depth as a playing list, but the flip side has been the positives in being able to play (seven) debutants this year. "Who knows, we might build on that in coming weeks."
Perth Now
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Bombers' ‘far from perfect' run continues
An injury to defender Ben McKay has propelled Essendon further into uncharted territory with its key-position stocks. McKay will miss the Bombers' trip to Brisbane this week after his foot was trodden on in their Dreamtime at the 'G win over Richmond last Friday. The 27-year-old becomes the 10th Bomber above 190cm to be sidelined in an injury-plagued campaign at Tullamarine. Sam Draper, Nick Bryan, Zach Reid, Nik Cox, Lewis Hayes, Harrison Jones, Jordan Ridley, Kyle Langford and Tom Edwards are all out through injury. Essendon coach Brad Scott said McKay, regardless of the severity of his foot scans, was not getting up for the Lions with travel and a shortened break. 'We're still assessing, he had a scan this morning so we'll get those results, but it's just too tight a timeframe to turn that around for him,' he said. 'He'll be unavailable and hopefully we'll have an update on where it sits later this afternoon or tomorrow.' Ben McKay won't play for the Bombers this Thursday. Michael Klein Credit: News Corp Australia The Bombers could take four picks to the mid-season draft on Wednesday night and play one of their selections as soon as Thursday night. Scott confirmed he was in an unprecedented position as a senior coach but was grateful for the opportunity it had created. 'It is (unprecedented) but if I had had it previously, fortunately we've got a mid-season draft to mitigate that somewhat,' Scott said. 'That's far from perfect either, really, it's just a different challenge for us. We're in a difficult spot in terms of availability. 'The way I look at these things is it'll create some opportunity for others. If we had a 100 per cent availability list we wouldn't have unearthed six debutants this year. 'Angus Clarke wouldn't have got an opportunity last week, which he clearly took. We'll give opportunity to others … we can be down in the dumps and focus on the negatives or be optimistic about the opportunity it creates.' Scott admitted the repetitive curveballs he'd faced this year had forced adjustments to the way the Bombers needed to play. But he's found a 'silver lining' in the 'blank canvas' of the next wave of Bomber youngsters. 'We have but the reality is we're always iterating the way we play anyway, what we're ultimately trying to build with this team is always going to evolve,' he said. 'It's a real challenge having to make challenges to the way we play based on the personnel we've got available. 'But it's really interesting, the younger players we've had come in have actually been fairly easy to coach because they're a blank canvas. 'They've come in and almost to a man have executed what we've asked them to. Again, that's the silver lining to getting young players in who are really eager to learn and keen to execute what we're coaching.'
The Age
02-05-2025
- Sport
- The Age
The four moments that show why Brad Scott rates Merrett alongside Nathan Buckley
'What makes him so good? Well, how long have you got?' Scott said. 'It's unfair to make too many comparisons, but this one I think is appropriate. 'He reminds me of Nathan Buckley in his will to win. He's so driven. 'I had the misfortune of playing against Nathan Buckley then had the fortune of coaching him His drive and his will to win, is close to second-to-none and Merrett reminds me so much of him in that regard. 'But Merrett, like Nathan, backs that up with work ethic. He works on his craft every day, he is always seeking to get better. Every time he comes into the NEC Hangar, he is like, 'I am here to get better' and he expects that of his teammates.' Brownlow medallist Buckley was the Magpies' great hope during the late 1990s. Four of his six Copeland Trophy wins came in seasons where his team finished no higher than 11th in a 16-team competition. After playing a first final in his debut season in the black and white in 1994, Buckley had to wait until he had turned 30 for a second taste of September. Merrett, who turns 30 in October, is yet to win a final from four appearances. Already at an extremely high standard, arguably just below Nick Daicos and Marcus Bontempelli, Merrett cannot be reasonably expected to do much more himself to get his team there. He undoubtedly knows this, which is why his focus in recent years has shifted towards making teammates better as well. The lace-out pass On Thursday night his opening act was to put the ball on the chest of Archie Perkins for the Bombers' first goal. The desperate tackle His effort to bring down North's veteran recruit Luke Parker, one of this generation's toughest midfielders, exemplified his commitment to the defensive side of the game. Upon being spurned by Kako, Merrett did well not to show excessive disappointment and berate his first-season teammate. 'That is the fine line. We've worked really hard in that space and Zach has led that. Isaac just didn't see him,' Scott said. 'Isaac is a very unselfish player. If he had seen Zach, he would have kicked it to him. Loading 'I reckon three, four, five years ago he would have shown a lot more disappointment than he did.'
