Top Bendigo Pioneers draft prospect Hunter Wright is set to turn out for Vic Country for its first game of the U18s National Championships against WA in Perth on Saturday at 12:00pm (AEST).
It follows a strong start to the utility's season at Coates League level, where he has averaged 22 disposals and four tackles as a leader of the midfield group.
The co-captain's form comes off the back of a determined pre-season following his stinging omission from the U17s Futures game on the MCG on AFL Grand Final Day last year.
Despite impressing in the U17s Vic Country trial match, a concussion limited his late-season action and contributed to selectors overlooking him.
โIt definitely hurt a little bit,โ Wright told Zero Hanger's Craft of the Draft.
โIt gave me a bit to strive for and a bit to chase after and it was handy in the end, because it gave me a bit of urgency to get done what I wanted to get done."
Wright's 2024 was bit-part by admission at Coates League level, showing sporadic glimpses without giving himself the foundation he had hoped for.
He averaged 13 disposals through 14 games, being exposed across the ground and showing enough to be included in Vic Country's summer training hub, which helped set him up for 2025.
โI feel like I didn't give it everything I wanted to last year," Wright reflected.
"I didn't make my mark as much as I wanted to.
โLooking back on what some of the (last year's draftees) at the Pioneers were doing in their bottom-aged season, I feel like I had the chances to do that because I played a lot of games, I just felt like I was trying to take too much of a backseat.
"Coming into this year, I was top-aged, I'm doing the work so it's time to have a crack and give it my best shot."
Off the back of a pre-season focused on getting stronger in the contest based on feedback received late last season, the 188cm talent's most influential games have been the ones where he's combined his newfound aggression with silky skills.
It has allowed him to form a potent one-two midfield punch with bottom-aged dynamo Cody Walker.
โBefore last year, I didn't really have the physicality to go on the inside as much and I felt like I shifted during last year which helped me learn where I needed to be," Walker said.
โThe exposure against bigger bodies last year taught me what was expected of a Talent League player and how to hold your own and compete in the contest.
โThis year compared to last year, I feel like I have a lot more time when I've got the ball; I'm not as panicky with the footy.
โI've been a bit more composed with the ball around the contest as a result, so I don't feel like I have to get it out of my hands as soon as I get it.
โAnd hold in the position I want to be in, instead of getting pushed around and dictated by the other team, which has helped me be a bit better in the clinches and stronger on the ball.โ
Speaking to Craft of the Draft last month, Bendigo coach Danny O'Bree poured praise on the Golden Square junior.
โI think his season's start has been as good as any (at Bendigo),โ O'Bree said.
โHis cleanliness, ability to get through traffic and decision making has been second to none.
โWhether it be at contest, outside the contest or getting forward, he's had a big impact on the games he's played.
And footy isn't the teenager's only talent.
While he's long since given it up to streamline his focus on his preferred sport, before the pandemic, Wright balanced footy with futsal, playing on the national stage.
Playing at regional, club and school level led to him getting the Australian call-up at U12s level, while he also had the opportunity to travel to Spain but turned it down as his attention started to shift towards footy.
โI enjoyed it, it was fast paced and required foot skills and the court being so small helps you see gaps that are hard to find sometimes in traffic," Wright said.
"The foot skills and putting the ball in the right spots and the court being so small helps you see gaps that are hard to find sometimes in traffic.
โI didn't have as much finesse as some of the other players, but soccer is a little less physical than footy, so I was more willing to push people around than they're used to which worked to my advantage.
โI've always been pretty sure footy was what I wanted to follow, though."
