Young Demon eying permanent spot up forward

"This pre-season they've (strength and conditioning staff) put a heavier emphasis on getting me in the weights room and getting my body size a lot bigger," Weideman said.

Now didn't someone say in a training report that the the fitness staff didn't want any players putting on weight?

"Weideman has put on four kilograms since the start of the pre-season and now tips the scales at 94kg, as the club's fitness staff looks to add size to his undeveloped frame.

That's the main focus for me and hopefully it pays dividends"

If he can keep his pace and leap then this extra muscle will certainly benefit his game, particularly in contests.

Good article! I would love to see Weideman, Hogan and Watts as the core of our forward structure (with Garlett, Petracca and Kent adding another 6-8 goals each week)!

It'd be wonderful to see Sam lock down a spot in the starting 22 in only his second season. He can certainly pluck the ball at height which our forwards do lack so it'll add another dimension.

Best of luck young fella.

interesting in poll at end of article that 70% have dees making the finals (72% for 5-8, 8% 1-4). 27K voters.

6 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

interesting in poll at end of article that 70% have dees making the finals (72% for 5-8, 8% 1-4). 27K voters.

Yes DC, that was me. I have been busy over the break.

gonna be a great player.. loved being at the G for his debut. 

Im excited to get a few extra kgs of Weed.

 

46 minutes ago, Biffen said:

Im excited to get a few extra kgs of Weed.

 

Northern lights?

(Only stoners or ex stoners will get it)

10 hours ago, McQueen said:

It'd be wonderful to see Sam lock down a spot in the starting 22 in only his second season. He can certainly pluck the ball at height which our forwards do lack so it'll add another dimension.

Best of luck young fella.

Nobody seems to have mentioned his set shot routine and accuracy: very impressive especially for a first year player. Hope some of this could rub off on Jesse, too.

It will be interesting to see whether Sam has an O-Mac type year where games are initially put into him ahead of more mature options or form completely dictates who plays. If he plays 10-12 games with snippets of those big launches at the ball would be an excellent second development year of footy. Anything more I think would be pushing it unless we purely want to get games into him.

I fully admit that I for one certainly questioned the Weid's inclusion in the side ahead of Pederson late last season (the Carlton game in particular).  Whist don't think I take that back, I do think it's good that the exposure of the Weid to senior AFL beyond the Hawthorn game should have a positive medium term impact on the Weid's development:

More than anything, the experience of playing senior footy made him realise that he needs to continually refine his game and find different ways to be more involved in the play. 

The 195cm forward kicked two goals (one with his first kick in the AFL) against the Hawks but kicked just one in his final two games of the season. 

"I did quite a bit of work last year and into this pre-season on finding different ways I can get the ball and improve my leading patterns," Weideman said. 

"I did find myself struggling with the lack of space but I've been doing a truckload of work with [defensive coordinator] Jade Rawlings and [offensive coordinator] Troy Chaplin this year on not letting my defender get set on me." 

 

What a great attitude from a young player and hopefully it pays dividends this season and beyond.