While most were surprised by Jack Ziebell’s incredible 41 possession performance against the Bulldogs on Sunday, Sam Wright was anything but.

Watching the game on television from the comfort of his childhood home in Katamatite, 25 minutes from Shepparton, Wright has nothing but admiration for his young mate and the way in which he’s gone about his football.

“He has been building up to a game like that. He’s been doing so much extra running and extra work in the gym to get his fitness up,” Wright told kangaroos.com.au.

Ziebell had copped his fair share of criticism early in 2011 for an apparent lack of fitness and inability to run out games. In particular former Sydney premiership coach Paul Roos targeted Ziebell for not being physically equipped to play a midfield role.

“I reckon the criticism wasn’t fair,” Wright stated.

“You can’t really expect someone to be able to run out a full game after limited pre-seasons like he’s had. I never ever doubted him. I’ve seen what he can do and I think that everyone has forgotten how good his first few games were before he broke his leg in 2009. I saw him at Murray Bushrangers where he only played a third of the games that season and was still named in the TAC Cup team of the year. He was a forward back then and just crashed the packs and kicked bags of goals each match.”

Wright says Ziebell paid little attention to that stinging criticism.

“I didn’t hear him complain about it once…he never even mentioned it. I just think it’s time he got some recognition but people have to understand that these rewards on the field have come from his hard work off it.”

Hard work off the field is something Wright must now confront after having a season-ending shoulder operation three weeks ago. But first, he must get into the right frame of mind and Ziebell’s influence has been instrumental.

“It’s massive...Ziebs has been a massive help already. Obviously it’s going to be a long road back for me and to tell you the truth I lost a bit of motivation. Ziebs has given me heaps of advice about how to go about things during my recovery and seeing what he did on the weekend after two broken legs gives me that motivation.

“We’re both competitive toward each other so I can’t let him take all the recognition and hog the limelight like he did on the weekend,” Wright joked.

And if anyone has the right to talk about Jack Ziebell, it’s his best mate Wright.

The pair has formed a close relationship since being drafted by the Kangaroos in 2008, but already had a brief history together. Playing for Murray Bushrangers in the TAC Cup, Wright recalls the first time he bumped into Ziebell.

“The first time I ever met him was during a practice match for Murray. Phil Bunn the coach put me on a half-forward flank and moved Jack onto me. He (Jack) wasn’t as big back then and it was a fairly even contest. We always joke about that day now and just find it funny that we had no idea who each other was and now we are best mates.”

They’ve now lived together for the past two years, along with Ben Warren in Flemington.

“Jack usually cooks and I do the dishes, but now I can’t do the dishes because of my shoulder…so he has to do it all. But when he broke his leg, Ben and I had to carry him to the toilet, so I think he owes me a bit.”

Wright has already become used to being waited on after spending three weeks recovering at home with his parents.

“Home cooked meals were the best….but I’d hate to see what my skin folds are at the moment,” he said laughing.

“It was good to get home but it was so hard to try and watch the boys playing on TV. I waited all week to watch the games and then was almost too frustrated to watch them.”

Now back in Melbourne for the start of his recovery, the 21 year-old has his sights firmly set on the club’s 2012 pre-season campaign.

“I’m in a sling for three more weeks and my full recovery will be hopefully be around 18 weeks. That means I should be right for Utah but I’m under no illusions and know that it will be a long road back with my body type.”