BOMBERS ATTACK A BIG THREAT: WRIGHT
ESSENDON spearhead Peter Wright says the Bombers will enter 2023 armed with more forward firepower as two stars firm for the opening round clash with Hawthorn.
Wright said a calf injury sustained at the end of last month had given him “a scare” but scans had come back clear, with the Bombers’ best and fairest expecting to play in both his side’s practice matches against Gold Coast and St Kilda.
“It was a pretty clean scan actually and to this point I’ve been building back up into full training,” Wright said. “I’ve been able to do a lot of work even on the sidelines, still getting the running in, and I feel really fit and ready to go.
“Last week I did just about everything … I’ll play (in the intraclub match) on Thursday and move forward to the match sims against Gold Coast and the Saints.”
Wright said he was thrilled for returning teammate Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti as he gained fitness and pushed for an early-season return in his comeback from retirement.
“A fit and health Tony is better for everyone – he obviously adds a different dynamic and I feel like we’re starting to look like a more diverse front six,”
Wright said. “First things first with Tony, we want him to be enjoying his life and enjoying his footy, and I feel like he’s been able to do that.
“He’s been really healthy the whole pre-season, I don’t think he’s missed a training session.”
With Jake Stringer a certainty to play in the Bombers’ Gold Coast scratch match, according to coach Brad Scott, and strong pre-season form from Jye Menzie and Alwyn Davey Jr, Wright said he was looking forward to seeing the revamped attack take shape.
“We feel like we’re going to have a lot of different threats up there in different ways,” he said.