Wright is tough and uncompromising yet unassuming in his presence.
His no frills approach makes him a reliable member of St Kilda’s backline and an on-field leader among the vast crop of similarly experienced Saints.
But following Sunday night’s clash against Richmond, Wright was in no mood to get ahead of himself, instead preferring to focus on the final match of the season versus Adelaide.
“I’m just happy to be back,” Wright told SAINTS.com.au in reference to his long spell on the sidelines with a broken leg.
“It’s just an awesome feeling and hopefully I can just finish off the year well.”
“We were good in patches,” he said.
“We came out at a start of a few quarters firing and dropped off in a few areas. We need to improve our four-quarter effort."
This inconsistency has been a constant theme for Alan Richardson’s men this year, who have shown glimpses of top class football interspersed with reactive play.
As Wright indicated, a five-minute lapse has the potential to cost the team dearly against the better teams.
“When we crack in and the contested ball is up, we look really good,” he said.
“But when we drop off four five minutes or so the scoreboard gets away from us.”
“It’s awesome running out with Lenny, obviously the champion of the game so any time I get the chance to run by side of him it’s brilliant.”
While he may not have Lenny’s sidestep or the natural ball-winning ability, Wright certainly possesses Hayes’ ferocious approach and team-first attitude.
Assuming he takes the field against Adelaide in round 23, the young half-back will have played 15 games in his first two season at the Saints after being selected with pick No.24 in the 2012 draft – just one spot ahead of another young promising youngster… Spencer White.
But following Sunday night’s clash against Richmond, Wright was in no mood to get ahead of himself, instead preferring to focus on the final match of the season versus Adelaide.
“I’m just happy to be back,” Wright told SAINTS.com.au in reference to his long spell on the sidelines with a broken leg.
“It’s just an awesome feeling and hopefully I can just finish off the year well.”
VIDEO: Wright smother sets up Shenton goal
The 20-year-old is just 14 games into his AFL career, but was remarkably mature when assessing the loss to the Tigers, suggesting that small lapses in concentration ultimately cost the Saints.“We were good in patches,” he said.
“We came out at a start of a few quarters firing and dropped off in a few areas. We need to improve our four-quarter effort."
This inconsistency has been a constant theme for Alan Richardson’s men this year, who have shown glimpses of top class football interspersed with reactive play.
As Wright indicated, a five-minute lapse has the potential to cost the team dearly against the better teams.
“When we crack in and the contested ball is up, we look really good,” he said.
“But when we drop off four five minutes or so the scoreboard gets away from us.”
Sunday was Wright’s second senior match since breaking his leg against Adelaide in round four. In both games he’s collected 12 touches and laid a handful of tackles, but what he’s enjoyed most, other than wearing the red, white and black jumper, is playing alongside Lenny Hayes.Congrats to @Len_hayes on a great career ! Champion of the game and an even better bloke #iLoveLenny
— Nathan Wright (@nathwright123) July 15, 2014
“It’s awesome running out with Lenny, obviously the champion of the game so any time I get the chance to run by side of him it’s brilliant.”
While he may not have Lenny’s sidestep or the natural ball-winning ability, Wright certainly possesses Hayes’ ferocious approach and team-first attitude.
Assuming he takes the field against Adelaide in round 23, the young half-back will have played 15 games in his first two season at the Saints after being selected with pick No.24 in the 2012 draft – just one spot ahead of another young promising youngster… Spencer White.
