CARLTON forward Matthew Wright has retired and will return to his former club Adelaide as a forwards development coach in a part-time role.

He will also captain the Crows' SANFL team.

Wright played a total of 159 AFL games, 65 of them at the Blues, having crossed from the Crows as a delisted free agent at the end of 2015.

The 28-year-old enjoyed a consistent three years with Carlton, playing predominantly forward, kicking 73 goals and winning the club's goal kicking award in 2016.

It followed 94 games and 63 goals across five years with Adelaide, where he will return next season to join the club's coaching staff.

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"Clearly I've loved my time at Carlton and the passion is still there to play senior footy, but ultimately my desire to pursue my coaching ambitions became too strong and I believe the time is now right to follow that," Wright told the club website. 

"My wife and I are expecting our first child next year and when the opportunity presented to return back to our home state there was a lot to weigh up, but we feel it is the right decision.

"I will always be incredibly grateful to Carlton for the opportunity to have continued my AFL career when it looked like it was over – it's been so enjoyable working with a young and talented group.

"The club is clearly on the right path under 'Bolts' and I wish the group nothing but the best for 2019 and beyond." 

Adelaide's head of football, Brett Burton, welcomed Wright back to the club.

"Matt was a well-liked, respected and hardworking player during his time at the Crows," Burton said. 

"His journey has been one built on resilience and now he will be able to pass down those lessons to our younger players."