The highly-rated football boss departed the Magpies this year 👀
The Adelaide Crows are reportedly making a strong push to bring former Collingwood football general manager Graham Wright into their football department.
Adelaide CEO Tim Silvers is said to have recently met with Wright, with the two having a long-standing professional relationship from their decade together at Hawthorn.
According to 7 News’ Theo Doropoulos, the role being offered to Wright is described as a significant “godfather” position within the football department. Wright’s off-field success, particularly his contributions to Hawthorn’s three-peat from 2013-15 and Collingwood’s premiership last season, makes him a prime candidate for a role with major responsibilities.
Graham Wright resigned from his duties at Collingwood this year after taking a sabbatical during the AFL home and away season. Originally planning to step down in 2023, Wright was encouraged to take a break and return to his role, as the Magpies highly valued his contributions to the football department.
However, his departure for an overseas trip caused significant disruption within Collingwood’s staff, triggering a series of changes that some believe contributed to the team’s decline in performance.
“The game stops for no one. So Collingwood, in this situation, then changed everyone’s roles. Assistant coaches changed positions, Brendan Bolton changed his position, Justin Leppitsch changed his position. Too much change,” Nine’s Matthew Lloyd said in July.
The Adelaide Crows are actively pursuing a strong figure to lead their football department as they strive to return to finals for the first time since 2017. Despite securing stars like Jordan Dawson and Izak Rankine in 2021 and 2022, the club was relatively quiet during last year’s trade period, acquiring Chris Burgess but losing key players Tom Doedee and Shane McAdam.
Looking ahead, the Crows are expected to bring in GWS defender Isaac Cumming and Melbourne midfielder-forward Alex Neal-Bullen. However, they missed out on securing Jack Lukosius, who opted for their cross-town rival, Port Adelaide.