Brisbane Lions great Jonathan Brown to mentor Gold Coast forward Peter Wright

Gold Coast has once again gone behind enemy lines for a mentor, recruiting a Lions great to help young tall forward Peter Wright physically impose himself on the competition.

Peter Wright (left) in a marking contest with Brosbane’s Harris Andrews. Picture: AAP

Gold Coast has once again gone behind enemy lines for a mentor, recruiting Lions great Jonathan Brown to help young tall forward Peter Wright.

The Suns need Wright to physically impose himself on the competition this year and have sought help from one of the toughest players the game has seen.

The mentoring was arranged by former Lion Matthew Kennedy, who has returned to the Suns for a second stint, this time in player welfare and development.

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Kennedy is a firm friend of Brown’s and in his last stint at the Suns arranged mentoring for former skipper Tom Lynch.

Lynch morphed from a running machine into a contested marking weapon who carried with him an air of menace.

Wright has the biggest shoes in football to fill replacing Lynch as the primary target inside the Suns’ forward line.

Peter Wright will be the Suns main forward target in 2019. Picture: Getty Images

Gold Coast football manager Jon Haines said Brown was not joining the Suns in an official capacity and had not attended training but confirmed the triple premiership Lion had assumed a mentoring role with Wright.

It is expected the relationship will continue throughout the season.

“Peter has found it really beneficial,’’ he said.

“Jon was really keen to help out, he takes an interest in the key forwards and we think he is going to be helpful for Peter getting advice from someone who has played that role and had great success.

“When he speaks he makes sense and with his credibility in the game, his views hold a lot of weight.

“Young emerging key position players like Pete in particular can learn a lot from him.’’

The former top ten draft pick is an elite runner, has strong hands and is an exceptional kick for such a tall player.

Jonathan Brown will mentor young Suns forward Peter Wright. Picture: Tony Gough

However he does not yet command the footy from his teammates with his presence in the forward fifty. Nor does he strike fear into the hearts of rival defenders which was Brown’s trademark throughout his 256 game career.

Haines confirmed they were hoping Brown could help Wright make more use of his 203cm, 102kg build.

“It is Pete’s potential to impact the game physically, we know he can cover the ground, but how does he physically impact the game and take advantage of his size,’’ he said.

“That was a great strength of Jonathan’s.”

Brown was unable to be contacted last night.