2016 was a breakout year for key forward Peter Wright, who emerged as a star of the future with 27 goals in 17 games to take home the club’s most improved award at the recent Club Champion event at Southport Sharks.

But the man known affectionately as ‘two-metre Peter’ started the year in the reserves after narrowly missing selection as the team’s second key forward behind star Tom Lynch, with Sam Day earning the nod from the coaching staff.

Wright sat out the first four games before injury created opportunity and he came in for the round five game against North Melbourne. And he grabbed with both hands, taking eight marks and kicking three goals in a coming-of-age performance.

Wright earned himself a NAB Rising Star nomination for his round 15 performance against St Kilda in which he plucked 10 marks, booted three goals while also contributing three goal assists.

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The following week, the Moonee Valley product took his game to another level, kicking five goals against Brisbane to go with 12 marks, almost taking home the Marcus Ashcroft medal for best-on-ground. Wright tied on votes with his best mate Touk Miller, but didn’t claim the memento based on countback.

But after a purple patch that yielded 14 goals in six games, Wright only managed five goals in his final five games.

Another big pre-season will only benefit the young workhorse as he strives to become a consistent presence in Gold Coast’s forward 50.

“I think it was indicative of the award he won at the end of the year, our most improved. For a young kid who’s so tall, still got so much development in his body and to play in the team that didn’t have a huge amount of inside 50s,” assistant coach Matthew Primus told goldcoastfc.com.au.

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“We asked him to do a lot of work up the ground, he had to go into the ruck on quite a few occasions, his year was pretty good from where he came from.

“Like a few of them, he’s got big scope how much better he can get but look, he’s got an appetite to learn from the coaches, learn from ‘Lynchy’ who’s a great role model for him and he continually wants to strive to get better.

“So there’s a lot of blue sky there for Pete but a great target for us, a beautiful contested mark. Improved his pressure and his ground ball stuff and improved his ruck craft as the year went along too so a really good stepping stone for him to a long career for us.”