MELBOURNE, 21 Nov 2014 (AFP) - Starting the day tied for the lead, Wright carded a four-under 68 to be two shots clear of the field on nine-under 135.
World number two Scott, chasing his third straight Masters title, trailed Wright by six shots in joint 11th spot.
The 2013 Augusta Masters champion posted a four-under 68 to lie three-under 141 heading into the weekend rounds.
"I felt, certainly, on the front nine, there was a low round out there," Scott said.
"If it's similar conditions tomorrow, with three par-5s on the front nine, someone is going to turn low, it's possible."
"But, I still have to hit a lot of good shots and make a lot of putts to do it."
Scott is using the Masters as preparation for next week's showdown with world number one Rory McIlroy in the Australian Open in Sydney.
Wright was a model of consistency, backing up his five-under 67 in the first round to capture the outright lead after he was one of four players to lead after the opening 18 holes.
"This is a golf course where you've got to play the course, I'm not concerned what he's (Scott) doing," said Wright, who has won three tier-two Australasia PGA events.
"Obviously, he's a fantastic player and I would expect him to play well over the weekend but I expect myself to play well too."
Australian Paul Spargo went around in five under to be two shots behind Wright, local professional Richard Green also produced a 67 to move to six under.
Spargo is tied with Melbourne amateur Todd Sinnott, who backed up his impressive opening round.
Americans Kyle Stanley (69-73), Boo Weekley (72-72) and Zac Blair (70-75) all made the cut at two-over.
Leading scores after the second round of the Australian Masters at the Metropolitan course (par-72) in Melbourne on Friday (Australia unless stated):
135 - Michael Wright 67-68
137 - Paul Spargo 70-67
138 - Todd Sinnott 67-71, Richard Green 71-67
139 - Matthew Guyatt 70-69, Anthony Houston 71-68
140 - Matthew Griffin 71-69, Mathew Goggin 71-69, Josh Younger 70-70, Geoff Ogilvy 69-71, Stephen Allan 67-73
141 - Peter Wilson 70-71, Riley Wheeldon (CAN) 71-70, Aron Price 68-73, David Bransdon 71-70, Marcus Fraser 73-68, Adam Scott 73-68, Kim Felton 71-70, Bryden Macpherson 70-71
142 - Kristopher Mueck 72-70, Tom Bond 70-72, David McKenzie 72-70, Steven Bowditch 67-75, Kyle Stanley (USA) 69-73, Jarrod Lyle 72-70, James Marchesani 69-73, Daniel Valente 72-70, Rhein Gibson 68-74, Brett Rumford 74-68
Selected scores:
143 - Jin Jeong (KOR) 73-70
144 - Boo Weekley (USA) 72-72
145 - Zac Blair (USA) 70-75
+2 (146) was the final cut, 66 players made the cut