But on Saturday he made the most of the opportunity for himself to be a goalkicker when he slotted seven in the Bloods’ 94-point win over Maryborough at Princes Park.

The Bloods continued their season of improvement with their eighth win, defeating the Magpies 23.17 (155) to 9.7 (61) in a result that keeps South Bendigo inside the BFNL top five.

Wright’s seven goals included a stunning second term onslaught when he bagged six in the Bloods’ tally of 10 that split the game open after Maryborough had been within seven points at quarter-time – albeit largely due to South Bendigo’s inaccuracy.

“With Brad you always know what you’re going to get… he’s a great competitor, so we threw him forward and it paid off,” injured South Bendigo coach Brady Childs said.

“We were really happy with our second quarter and the way we moved the ball. Playing on the small ground at Maryborough it can get a bit scrappy, but we were able to get our running game going.”

Wright was one of a spread of 12 goalkickers for the Bloods, who after kicking an off-target 3.8 in the first term straightened up with 20.9 after quarter-time.

Midfielders Aaron Connaughton and Mitch Rogerson (two goals) and Wright were the standouts for the Bloods, while with Kieran Strachan retaining his place in Essendon’s VFL team the rucking duties were shared by Tom McGhee and Bendigo Pioneer-listed Riley Burns.

Consistent midfielder Ethan Crackel was again Maryborough’s best player, ruckman/forward Jake Postle battled hard and key forward Cameron Rinaldi kicked three goals before suffering a corkie.

“We were clearly outplayed in the first half, and to be fair to South, we should have been a lot further behind at quarter-time after they missed some shots they’d normally get,” Maryborough coach Shane Skontra said.

“We were a bit flat coming off the bye today and were behind the eight-ball.”