The Black Cats had to settle for a 2-2 draw on Tuesday night local time, having twice taken the lead at Spotland Stadium.

The visitors broke the deadlock after a quarter of an hour, only to be pegged back ten minutes later.

And it was vice-captain Wright, an ever-present in the heart of Sunderland’s defence this season, who this time made an impact at the other end when he edged his side back in front near the end of the first half.

The 28-year-old got on the end of a deflected Lyndon Gooch delivery and nodded into the bottom corner to restore his side’s lead on 40 minutes.

However, the hosts equalised four minutes later, and while Wright and his teammates bossed much of the second half, they were unable to find a winning goal.

Sunderland now has 15 points from its eight league outings and sits in seventh place in League One.

Wright has played in all eight of Sunderland’s league games so far this season, helping his side to five clean sheets in a row during that time.

But an unbeaten start to the season was ended at the weekend when Portsmouth won 3-1 at the Stadium of Light. And now the Black Cats have conceded five goals in two games and slipped outside the League One play-off places.

Despite the recent leaks, manager Phil Parkinson says the team’s defensive tenacity has been its “bedrock” so far this term – something Wright has been a major part of.

The Melburnian joined the club on a permanent transfer in August of this year, after originally joining on a six-month loan deal from Bristol City in January.

Since then, the 24-cap Socceroo has become a fixture in the starting line-up and was named vice-captain for the 2020-21 season.

His goal against Rochdale came in what was his 13th league game for the club since sealing the loan move back at the start of the year.

Next up for Wright and company is a trip to Gillingham on Saturday at 1pm UK time (midnight Sunday AEST).

The Gills are on a four-game losing streak and have failed to find the back of the net in each of those outings.