Sam Weideman

Samuel Weideman (born 26 June 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A key forward, Weideman is 1.96 metres (6 ft 5 in) tall and weighs 97 kilograms (214 lb). He played top-level football early, playing in the TAC Cup as a bottom-aged player. His achievements as a junior included two best and fairest awards and national representation. Even though an ankle injury forced him to miss the majority of his final year of junior football, he was drafted by Melbourne with the ninth selection in the 2015 AFL draft. He made his AFL debut in 2016, making him a third-generation footballer, whereby he is the grandson of the Collingwood Football Club's 1958 premiership captain, Murray Weideman, and the son of former Collingwood player, Mark Weideman.

Sam Weideman
Weideman in June 2019.
Personal information
Full name Samuel Weideman
Date of birth (1997-06-26) 26 June 1997
Original team(s) Eastern Ranges (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 9, 2015 national draft
Debut Round 20, 2016, Melbourne
vs. Hawthorn, at MCG
Height 195 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight 97 kg (214 lb)
Position(s) Key forward
Club information
Current club Melbourne
Number 26
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2016– Melbourne 38 (41)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2020.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life
Weideman in February 2017

Weideman was born into an Australian rules football family with his grandfather, Murray Weideman, playing 180 matches for the Collingwood Football Club, including winning two premierships (he captained the 1958 premiership), winning three Copeland Trophies as Collingwood's best and fairest, and is a member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame; his father, Mark Weideman, also played for Collingwood, playing 28 games.[1] Although both his father and grandfather played for Collingwood, he grew up a passionate supporter of the Richmond Football Club.[2] He attended Whitefriars College, graduating year twelve in 2015,[3] and he played his junior football with the Vermont Football Club in the Eastern Football League[4] where he won back-to-back best and fairests after switching from a ruckman to a forward at 16 years of age.[5] He played with the Eastern Ranges in the TAC Cup as a bottom-aged player in 2014,[6] and despite an iron deficiency and an ankle stress fracture hampering his second half of the season,[7] he played fifteen matches and kicked nineteen goals.[8] He received a scholarship within the prestigious AFL Academy for 2015,[9] which included playing in the curtain raiser for the 2014 AFL Grand Final with the under-17 Australian team.[10]

Returning to the Eastern Ranges in 2015, Weideman played five matches, kicking nine goals,[8] including five goals in one match against the Dandenong Stingrays.[11] As part of the AFL Academy, he played two matches in April against Victorian Football League (VFL) sides, Werribee and the Northern Blues, both at the Melbourne Cricket Ground,[12][13] in the second match, his first quarter saw him kick two goals and take five marks and he was named in the best players by AFL Media.[14] He received mid-year honours through selection with Vic Metro for the 2015 AFL Under 18 Championships,[15] and he was named vice-captain,[4] however a re-aggravation of his ankle injury saw him ruled out for the entire championships and the remainder of the TAC Cup season.[16][17] After playing no football since May, doubts surrounded Weideman and his injuries,[18][19] however Eastern Ranges talent manager, Len Villani, noted "his qualities made him a rare commodity",[20] and the AFL Academy coach, Brad Johnson, stated "every now and then you’ll see things from him and you know with good development into the future, he’s going to turn into a really strong, consistent performer"[21] and "the right people have seen enough already through his junior days to say he’ll be able to get back to some pretty strong fitness, work on his endurance and become a really good hit-up forward".[4] Along with comparisons to Fremantle forward, Matthew Pavlich, and Gold Coast forward, Tom Lynch,[18][19] he was predicted to still be drafted inside the top ten in the 2015 national draft.[5][22][23][24][25]

AFL career

After being linked to the Melbourne Football Club in the weeks leading to the 2015 national draft,[26][27][28][29] Weideman was drafted by them with their second selection and ninth overall.[30] After Melbourne declared they would take a "patient approach" with him,[31] he played with Melbourne's affiliate team in the Victorian Football League (VFL), the Casey Scorpions, and he kicked four goals in his debut match against Frankston[32] along with four goals against the Northern Blues and three against Coburg.[33][34] The match against Coburg was labelled his best for the year by Casey coach, Justin Plapp,[35] and after kicking twenty goals from eleven matches,[36] he made his AFL debut the next week in the twenty-nine point win against the Hawthorn Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round 20.[37] His debut match was praised within the AFL industry for him "having an immediate impact" and he was labelled as "impressive",[38][39][40] where he kicked a goal with his first kick and amassed six disposals in the first quarter, finishing with two goals and thirteen disposals.[41] During his debut match, he suffered a corked thigh which meant he missed the forty point win against Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval the next week.[42] He returned in round 22 for the twenty point loss against Carlton at the Melbourne Cricket Ground[43] and he played the remaining two matches of the season to finish with three matches and three goals for the season.[44] After the AFL season finished, he played in Casey's finals campaign, including the grand final loss to Footscray at Etihad Stadium.[45]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2019 season [44]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2016 Melbourne 2633081725901.00.02.75.78.43.00.0
2017 Melbourne 2673424325618120.30.63.44.68.02.61.7
2018 Melbourne 2610105575811540241.00.55.75.811.54.02.4
2019 Melbourne 2611118605311346161.00.75.54.810.34.21.5
2020 Melbourne 2671473422562952.01.04.93.18.04.10.7
Career 38 41 24 183 182 365 142 57 1.1 0.6 4.8 4.8 9.6 3.7 1.5
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References
  1. Twomey, Callum (16 January 2015). "Footy's in the blood for draft prospect Weideman". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  2. Quayle, Emma (24 January 2015). "Academy teens get a taste of life in the AFL". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  3. Cherny, Daniel (21 November 2015). "AFL draft 2015: Sam Weideman wants to make a point". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  4. Waterworth, Ben (18 June 2015). "Sam Weideman reflects on draft expectation, famous surname, ankle injury". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  5. Landsberger, Sam (10 November 2015). "AFL draft 2015: Rewards with Sam Weideman should outweigh risk". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  6. Hustwaite, Megan (17 June 2014). "Eastern Ranges pay the price for playing catch-up footy against Western Jets in TAC Cup". Lillydale & Yarra Valley Leader. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  7. Ralph, Jon (6 December 2014). "Sam Weideman, grandson of Collingwood legend Murray, top prospect in 2015 AFL Draft". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  8. "Sam Weideman–Player Profile". TACCup.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  9. Twomey, Callum (10 August 2014). "Vic Country dominates AFL Academy squad". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  10. Twomey, Callum (25 September 2014). "Best juniors to open Grand Final day". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  11. Hustwaite, Megan (13 May 2015). "Too little, too late for Eastern Ranges in TAC Cup loss to Dandenong Stingrays". Knox Leader. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  12. Twomey, Callum (5 April 2015). "Academy guns on show during loss to Werribee". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  13. Quayle, Emma (11 April 2015). "Tall prospects start moving up the AFL draft order". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  14. Twomey, Callum (12 April 2015). "Draft prospect takes incredible hanger as famous name impresses". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  15. Twomey, Callum (9 March 2015). "SA begins quest for three-peat in WA as 2015 NAB AFL Under-18 Championships fixture is revealed". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  16. Waterworth, Ben (21 May 2015). "Sam Weideman suffers ankle injury, will miss early rounds of national championships for Vic Metro". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  17. O’Molloy, Eamonn (31 May 2015). "Eastern Ranges endure TAC Cup defeat on top of potential season-ending injury to key forward prospect Sam Weideman". Lilydale & Yarra Valley Leader. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  18. Landsberger, Sam (19 November 2015). "AFL draft 2015: Fitness concern on Sam Weideman remains". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  19. Twomey, Callum (23 November 2015). "1 day to the draft: Meet imposing forward and grandson of Pies legend Sam Weideman". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  20. O’Molloy, Eamonn (2 February 2015). "Len Villani takes over as talent manager at TAC Cup club, the Eastern Ranges". Knox Leader. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  21. Walsh, Courtney (10 October 2015). "Sam Weideman faces more stress preparing for AFL draft". The Australian. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  22. Ralph, Jon (12 June 2015). "AFL medical officials examine injuries to Queensland and NSW academy draft prospects". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  23. Ralph, Jon (7 November 2015). "AFL Draft 2015: Sam Weideman, Ryan Burton to undergo special medical screening". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  24. Quayle, Emma (20 November 2015). "Which players will help shape the AFL draft order?". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  25. O'Molloy, Eamonn (23 November 2015). "Sam Weideman heads the list of potential AFL recruits from Eastern Ranges in today's draft". Whitehorse Leader. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  26. Landsberger, Sam (21 October 2015). "AFL trades 2015: Melbourne could snap up Darcy Parish and Sam Weideman with top 10 picks in national draft". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  27. Twomey, Callum (10 November 2015). "Pick No.3: Dees to go 'best available', but not yet sure who that is". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  28. Landsberger, Sam (17 November 2015). "AFL Draft 2015: Sam Weideman to undergo AFL-supervised testing, Essendon eyeing Clayton Oliver, Ryan Burton". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  29. Twomey, Callum (18 November 2015). "Weideman, Mills, Dunkley and Rice put through their paces ahead of AFL draft". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  30. Bladwin, Adam (25 November 2015). "AFL draft 2015: Melbourne drafts Clayton Oliver, Sam Weideman". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  31. Ralph, Jon (25 November 2015). "AFL draft 2015: Melbourne building potent attack with addition of Sam Weideman". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  32. Amy, Paul (11 April 2016). "Melbourne's young guns fire in thumping of Frankston in VFL season-opener". Frankston Standard Leader. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  33. "Youngsters Sam Weideman and Jaxon Briggs sparkle up forward in big Casey win". Cranbourne Leader. News Corp Australia. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  34. Burgan, Matt (4 August 2016). "Weideman to make debut against Hawks". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  35. Burgan, Matt (3 August 2016). "VFL player review: round 17". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  36. Salemme, Kate (4 August 2016). "Sam Weideman to make his AFL debut for Melbourne against Hawthorn". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  37. Febbo, Val (4 August 2016). "Melbourne youngster Sam Weideman to debut against premiers Hawthorn". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  38. Nicholson, Larissa (6 August 2016). "AFL season 2016: Brilliant Melbourne Demons upset Hawthorn Hawks". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  39. McFarlane, Glenn (6 August 2016). "Demons stun Hawks to end a decade's worth of domination". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  40. Ryan, Peter (6 August 2016). "Match report: Fierce Dees stun ladder-leading Hawks". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  41. Collins, Ben (6 August 2016). "Five talking points: Melbourne v Hawthorn". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  42. Twomey, Callum (11 August 2016). "Dee fans have to wait for Sam and 'Hoges' show". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  43. Lewis, Georgina (19 August 2016). "Three changes for Carlton clash". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  44. "Sam Weideman". AFL Tables. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  45. "Casey Scorpions Grand Final team". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
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