Graham Wright (born 6 June 1968) is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

administrator and former player. Wright played for in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

, and is the current deputy CEO of the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Princes Park (stadium), Princes Park in Carlton North, Victoria, Carlton North, an inner suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The c ...

Playing career

Wright was selected by Collingwood in the 1987 National draft with their first round pick (No. 3 overall) as a quick wingman, having shown great courage for

Tasmanian Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The state encompasses the main island of Tasmania, the 26th ...

side East Devonport. Making his debut in 1988, Wright took his time to prove his value as a first-round draftee but in 1990 he had a fantastic year which saw him rise in ranking amongst the top wingmen in the league. Wright finished 2nd in the

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the f ...

to Tony Liberatore by one vote in 1990, and then finished equal 3rd in the

Copeland Trophy The E.W. Copeland Trophy is an Australian rules football award given by the Collingwood Football Club to the player adjudged best and fairest for Collingwood during the year. The Copeland Shield, as it was formerly known, was donated by Ern Cop ...

. Perhaps more importantly, Wright was a valuable member of the 1990 premiership side. He represented

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, Victoria and the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

in interstate football during his career. A shock came to coach

Leigh Matthews Leigh Raymond Matthews (born 1 March 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for Hawthorn Football Club, Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL) and coached and the ...

and players at the end of 1991 when Wright announced he wanted to return to Tasmania to play football, but was talked out of it by Matthews. In 1993 he was a victim of a disease which threatened his playing career, but he recovered in the pre-season to continue playing his damaging football on the wing. Consistent football followed in the mid-1990s before he suffered a knee injury in 1996 against

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

which would require a knee reconstruction. Following the season-ending injury, his main asset of pace was severely affected, and he would play out his career in defence where his courage gave him an edge. Wright played his 200th game against Carlton in 1998, before retiring from the AFL at the end of the 1998 season. Wright played two further seasons of senior football for

Burnie Burnie ( ; Aboriginal Tasmanians#North, pirinilaplu/palawa kani: ''Pataway'') is a port city located on the North West Tasmania, north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is the fourth largest city on the island, located approximately north ...

in the Tasmanian Statewide League before retiring from playing. He was inducted into the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame.

Administrator

In his first years after retirement, Wright served suburban and state level coaching roles at North Ringwood (2002–2003) and Springvale (2004). With an MBA in Sports Management, in 2004, Wright took on his first AFL administrative role as recruiter for the . He shifted to in the same role in 2007, becoming the recruiting and list manager at Hawthorn in June 2011. He served a key role in the reconstruction of Hawthorn's team during these years, responsible for bringing

Shaun Burgoyne Shaun Playford Burgoyne (born 21 October 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Burgoyne was the first Indigenous Austral ...

, David Hale,

Josh Gibson Joshua Gibson (December 21, 1911 – January 20, 1947) was an American baseball catcher primarily in the Negro leagues. In 1972, he became the second Negro league player to be inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, National ...

Jack Gunston Jack Gunston (born 16 October 1991) is a professional Australian footballer who plays for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Brisbane Lions and the Adelaide Football Club. Early lif ...

Jonathan Simpkin Jonathan Simpkin (born 28 October 1987) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club, Hawthorn Football Club and Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Nicknamed "Joffa", ...

and Brian Lake to the club, which formed part of the core of Hawthorn's three consecutive premierships from 2013 to 2015. Wright was promoted to Head of Football at Hawthorn in 2018. In 2021, he returned to Collingwood as General Manager of Football, overseeing the club's 2023 premiership in that position. In 2025, he joined Carlton as Deputy CEO, under a succession plan which will see him take over as CEO from Brian Cook from 2026.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Graham 1968 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Tasmania Collingwood Football Club players Collingwood Football Club premiership players East Devonport Football Club players Tasmanian State of Origin players Casey Demons coaches Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Devonport, Tasmania Allies State of Origin players Victorian State of Origin players Burnie Dockers Football Club players VFL/AFL premiership players Carlton Football Club administrators