18 minutes ago, Superunknown said:

You delete Instagram, Twitter off your phone. You lock FB down to your friends/family. No whatsapp.

You ring people and see them F2F.

You don't visit Demonland, Big Footy, skip articles about your form online.

Unecessary noise.

 

You summed up your post in the last sentence perfectly 

2 hours ago, Lord Nev said:

Making stuff up? Here's a quote from Taylor and some draft profiles...

JT: “With Sam we thought we needed to bring in another key forward to partner Jesse (Hogan). We think he’s going to be a quality player in time and we can be patient with him."

AFL draft 2015: Melbourne drafts Clayton Oliver, Sam Weideman

"longer term prospect"

2015 AFL draft prospects: Sam Weideman

" First year projection: Long-term prospect"

2015 Draft Profile: Sam Weideman

well he got that right!!!!

4 hours ago, Lord Nev said:

Making stuff up? Here's a quote from Taylor and some draft profiles...

JT: “With Sam we thought we needed to bring in another key forward to partner Jesse (Hogan). We think he’s going to be a quality player in time and we can be patient with him."

AFL draft 2015: Melbourne drafts Clayton Oliver, Sam Weideman

"longer term prospect"

2015 AFL draft prospects: Sam Weideman

" First year projection: Long-term prospect"

2015 Draft Profile: Sam Weideman

Being patient doesn't mean project player. Bradke is a project player. Joel Smith as well.

You don't use pick 9 on a project player.

Comedy gold.

 

17 hours ago, low flying Robbo said:

I spoke to a client of mine last week who is very close to Sam, and he said that Sam is absolutely gutted after last week's game. He absolutely felt the pressure of needing to perform and felt sick at half time. The social media vitriol had hit him hard too

Jeez. thats terrible but tbh i'm not surprised. He looks completely bereft. If the pressure to perform is having this impact then I’d suggest he has a good think about what’s best for him going forward, consult with those he trusts and consider whether AFL is worth it. Mental health and wellbeing are more important than a footy career.

AFL players have to perform to a certain standard. That’s just the fact of it. If the pressure to perform is impacting health then it may be best to seek a less stressful career. Life is too short. 

17 minutes ago, Better days ahead said:

Jeez. thats terrible but tbh i'm not surprised. He looks completely bereft. If the pressure to perform is having this impact then I’d suggest he has a good think about what’s best for him going forward, consult with those he trusts and consider whether AFL is worth it. Mental health and wellbeing are more important than a footy career.

AFL players have to perform to a certain standard. That’s just the fact of it. If the pressure to perform is impacting health then it may be best to seek a less stressful career. Life is too short. 

My thoughts exactly. 

On 6/21/2021 at 1:19 PM, Dwight Schrute said:

I certainly wouldn't be offering Weid up for trade unless he's desperate to leave, i don't think he's best 22 right now but i think he show's enough to persist a little while longer on the list if possible 

 

 

On 6/21/2021 at 1:27 PM, whatwhat say what said:

trade him for ben simmons

 

On 6/21/2021 at 1:39 PM, Dwight Schrute said:

I'd give him another year i reckon OD, mostly because i can't imagine we'd get enough in a trade to make it worth moving him, his value was a lot higher when we weren't giving him a game haha

Am I missing something?  Isn't Sam out of contract at the end of the year and if so can't he just walk as an uncontracted player, should he choose to do so?

23 hours ago, adonski said:

Weid doesn't have the mind to be a great player unfortunately, a massive confidence player who goes into his shell really quickly. Still reckon he has the upside & talent to become a good 2nd tall forward option, but if the Pies gave him a good offer I'd gladly be taking a 2nd rounder at this stage if he doesn't show something obvious in the back half of the year.  

I remember in years gone by discussing the need for a sports psychologist.  Do we have one at the club, or access to an independent one?

Anyone with any experience of sports psychologists - do you believe that a good one could turn Sam around?

Thanks.

25 minutes ago, Better days ahead said:

Jeez. thats terrible but tbh i'm not surprised. He looks completely bereft. If the pressure to perform is having this impact then I’d suggest he has a good think about what’s best for him going forward, consult with those he trusts and consider whether AFL is worth it. Mental health and wellbeing are more important than a footy career.

AFL players have to perform to a certain standard. That’s just the fact of it. If the pressure to perform is impacting health then it may be best to seek a less stressful career. Life is too short. 

I'm not sure taking an enormous pay cut to start a new career at age 24 is guaranteed to have the mental health benefits your suggesting. Your point is well taken though.  

 

40 minutes ago, Better days ahead said:

Jeez. thats terrible but tbh i'm not surprised. He looks completely bereft. If the pressure to perform is having this impact then I’d suggest he has a good think about what’s best for him going forward, consult with those he trusts and consider whether AFL is worth it. Mental health and wellbeing are more important than a footy career.

AFL players have to perform to a certain standard. That’s just the fact of it. If the pressure to perform is impacting health then it may be best to seek a less stressful career. Life is too short. 

No disrespect BDA, but none of us on here know anything about Sam for sure, except what is obvious - that he is completely out of form and lacking a shred of confidence. As such, I have every confidence that the Club will do whatever it needs to do to help him find his mojo again. And I also have no doubts that he will do just that - but that part is just my opinion. 

Talk of trading him, or that he needs to leave the MFC to come good, or that he may need to quit football for his mental health, is, at this stage, just so over the top IMO, and really just reeks of the over expectations our supporters have for anyone that comes to this Club with a KPF label. Look at what happened with Watts, look at Hogan, and look at Sam - and heaven forbid if BBB should play a few bad games. They have far more external pressure placed upon them than any other type of recruit. 

I would be more worried about Sam if he didn’t show his disappointment at his own form. It shows he has high expectations, and also shows that he knows he has the ability to perform on the big stage - again my opinion.

But FFS, we have played 13 games this year without an in-form KPF and low and behold we have won 11 of them. I shudder to think what we will be like when Sam or Ben start to fire.

 

Edited June 22, 20213 yr by Neil Crompton

1 hour ago, Neil Crompton said:

But FFS, we have played 13 games this year without an in-form KPF and low and behold we have won 11 of them. I shudder to think what we will be like when Sam or Ben start to fire.

I'm no goal kicking coach but for me his goal kicking woes stem from his action. He's often lauded incorrectly for having a great kicking action, and I can understand why people that don't watch much of him say that, but the reality is that his ball drop is inconsistent.  He is way too tense and rigid and fixated on being straight that he looks to have loss all sense of what's natural. 

1 hour ago, Better days ahead said:

 If the pressure to perform is having this impact then I’d suggest he has a good think about what’s best for him going forward, consult with those he trusts and consider whether AFL is worth it. Mental health and wellbeing are more important than a footy career.

AFL players have to perform to a certain standard. That’s just the fact of it. If the pressure to perform is impacting health then it may be best to seek a less stressful career. Life is too short. 

It's not so simple. Some great players have either flourished despite their anxiety / fear, or used it to their advantage.

Nev Jetta has spoken of the fear of letting his team-mates down being a motivating factor. Glenn Archer was so sick with nerves he sometimes used to throw up the night before a match, even at the end of a long and distinguished career. All he could think about was failing. "I spend a lot of time sitting at home [wishing] I didn't have to go to the game, because of getting nervous."

Of course, there's a balance with these things, but those kinds of anxieties are probably quite common in elite sport. 

Edited June 22, 20213 yr by Grapeviney

On 6/21/2021 at 9:54 PM, low flying Robbo said:

I spoke to a client of mine last week who is very close to Sam, and he said that Sam is absolutely gutted after last week's game. He absolutely felt the pressure of needing to perform and felt sick at half time. The social media vitriol had hit him hard too

He's spoken of struggling to deal with the pressure and social media commentary before, too: https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/238081/weideman-experiences-the-afls-dark-side

9 hours ago, Superunknown said:

You delete Instagram, Twitter off your phone. You lock FB down to your friends/family. No whatsapp.

You ring people and see them F2F.

You don't visit Demonland, Big Footy, skip articles about your form online.

Unecessary noise.

Oh wow, it's so easy!

Disconnect from the entire world, thereby isolating yourself further. 

FFS this is so incredibly out of touch.

5 hours ago, Dr.D said:

I'm no goal kicking coach but for me his goal kicking woes stem from his action. He's often lauded incorrectly for having a great kicking action, and I can understand why people that don't watch much of him say that, but the reality is that his ball drop is inconsistent.  He is way too tense and rigid and fixated on being straight that he looks to have loss all sense of what's natural. 

He leans back on his kicks too much instead of kicking through the footy as well

7 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

He's spoken of struggling to deal with the pressure and social media commentary before, too: https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/238081/weideman-experiences-the-afls-dark-side

Oh wow, it's so easy!

Disconnect from the entire world, thereby isolating yourself further. 

FFS this is so incredibly out of touch.

I don't have Instagram or Twitter, my Facebook is locked down to friends/family only. I do visit Demonland and bigfooty but then I'm a fan not a player. Taking these measures is hardly disconnecting from the world. 

9 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I don't have Instagram or Twitter, my Facebook is locked down to friends/family only. I do visit Demonland and bigfooty but then I'm a fan not a player. Taking these measures is hardly disconnecting from the world. 

That's good for you.

But if you do already have them and they form part of your life, the answer isn't "just turn them off".

There is no one size fits all answer.

Feel for Sam on a human level, obviously. 

However, he wanted to be an AFL footballer and naturally there's a whole lot of pressure that comes with that. Selection, form, commentary, acocial media, etc etc. Maybe he's not as well equipped as others when it comes to dealing with that pressure, but unfortunately for him, he has to work through it or fall to the wayside. 

Sam was brought into our club as a prodigiously talented key forward. He was given time to build his fitness after having ankle surgery on both ankles in his first year. He's built his body, he has the required fitness, (even after his broken pre season). This is completely between the ears now for Sam and nothing to do with being a project player. 

Hopefully he can address his mental demons and learn to relax into playing and if not, I fear for his future at the club. 

Whilst our game plan seems to suit a quicker, more agile and smaller forward setup, that doesn't excuse some of Sam's games over the past few weeks. There's no way he plays against Essendon and I hope for his sake he can become mentally stronger and when he gets that next opportunity, he won't look back. 

1 hour ago, JimmyGadson said:

Feel for Sam on a human level, obviously. 

However, he wanted to be an AFL footballer and naturally there's a whole lot of pressure that comes with that. Selection, form, commentary, acocial media, etc etc. Maybe he's not as well equipped as others when it comes to dealing with that pressure, but unfortunately for him, he has to work through it or fall to the wayside. 

Sam was brought into our club as a prodigiously talented key forward. He was given time to build his fitness after having ankle surgery on both ankles in his first year. He's built his body, he has the required fitness, (even after his broken pre season). This is completely between the ears now for Sam and nothing to do with being a project player. 

Hopefully he can address his mental demons and learn to relax into playing and if not, I fear for his future at the club. 

Whilst our game plan seems to suit a quicker, more agile and smaller forward setup, that doesn't excuse some of Sam's games over the past few weeks. There's no way he plays against Essendon and I hope for his sake he can become mentally stronger and when he gets that next opportunity, he won't look back. 

Fair call.

For the sake of argument, if we accept that he struggles psychologically - and there is enough evidence to suggest he does - then in a funny way that's a positive. Or perhaps not so much a positive but it creates an opportunity.

By that I mean it is something he can work on, as opposed not being up to it talent wise (though of course players can improve in that regard too I guess).

As Grapeviney notes earlier in this thread there are any number of elite athletes who struggle psychologically and have found a way to overcome it.

I know it goes against current orthodoxy, and his lateral movement worries me as it is, but I reckon might be better bulking up through the legs and getting much stronger. And playing out of the square like Hawkins.

I saw him in vfl match at the pies ground in I think his first season (i was standing next to his dad). He played out of the square as a true full forward. Looked a natural full forward, with good leading patterns and clean hands on the lead. His talent was evident. 

Up the ground he looks less natural and seems to struggle getting to the right spots. And struggles more one on one. Looks much more comfortable  coming at the ball front on - both on the lead and in contested marking situations.

I still have confidence he can make it. The best option might be to be told you are wanted at the club, you are part of the future. Build yourself up, play a good block of games at vfl , work on your psychological preparation (which if he gets it right will help with his intensity i reckon) and we'll go from there.

Edited June 22, 20213 yr by binman

1 hour ago, titan_uranus said:

That's good for you.

But if you do already have them and they form part of your life, the answer isn't "just turn them off".

There is no one size fits all answer.

The World is a worse place since the advent of 'social media'

Its easy and liberating to disconnect.

We have the perfect bloke to mentor Sam in Choko.

All is not lost yet.

IMO too many have written him off on here prematurely and yes I know he has been with us for a number of years.

He could do a Tom Mac and come out later and play good footy for us.

Edited June 23, 20213 yr by Redleg

19 hours ago, monoccular said:

 

 

Am I missing something?  Isn't Sam out of contract at the end of the year and if so can't he just walk as an uncontracted player, should he choose to do so?

I remember in years gone by discussing the need for a sports psychologist.  Do we have one at the club, or access to an independent one?

Anyone with any experience of sports psychologists - do you believe that a good one could turn Sam around?

Thanks.

The club had one on board for a while. Staff cuts potentially reduced that role. 
 

Any player or coach has access to Aflpa psychs at any time... there are a numerous ones across the country.

Essentially a good psych can arm with certain tools to remain more committed to values, roles etc on the day during a match, so yes they can help, and it’s always always ultimately up to the individual to act on those things during the game.

The issue has always been that you can't have three highly paid forwards on your list.

Long term I would prefer Weideman to stay but increasingly it seems he is the one to go. That he is out of contract at year's end makes it relatively easy.

He may elect to take a one year deal with us or somewhere else in the hope that he can show his wares and demand the big mid career contract. Doubt that any club would offer him more than $400k per year on his present form.

We're probably going to need some spare money to keep Jackson at the club at the end of 2022.

There are a lot of assumptions being made about Weideman on here. 

The most straightforward (and likely) issue is that he missed a large chunk of time with a stress fracture in his leg, which robbed him of a lot of fitness and strength as he's had to spend time off his feet. Given that he's young and not yet established himself as a best 22 player, (and one without a mature forward's body) that has made it a difficult barrier for him to overcome. 

I think time playing VFL is better for him at the moment, but there's a lot of overreaction in this thread.

24 minutes ago, Axis of Bob said:

There are a lot of assumptions being made about Weideman on here. 

The most straightforward (and likely) issue is that he missed a large chunk of time with a stress fracture in his leg, which robbed him of a lot of fitness and strength as he's had to spend time off his feet. Given that he's young and not yet established himself as a best 22 player, (and one without a mature forward's body) that has made it a difficult barrier for him to overcome. 

I think time playing VFL is better for him at the moment, but there's a lot of overreaction in this thread.

Fair points.

Agree a good block of time in the VFL is the go.

But stripping away the emotive stuff and the supposition (mine for example re his head space), whilst, yes, he had a pretty serious injury to overcome, by all accounts he is as fit and strong as he has ever been at the moment. 

And he was in our best 22 in 2018 and 2020 and has played nearly 50 games, so it's not as if he is on an upward curve.

Also, he is actually not that young given he is 24 in a few days and is in his 6th season 

History suggests that he he has his work cut out to make it. And there is no doubt people jumping on him and bagging him aint going to help in any way.

So I for one will stop now commenting on him after this post.

My last comment is I have faith he can make it and be an important part of our side and I would be happy for them to offer him a two year deal and back him in to do so.

Edited June 23, 20213 yr by binman

1 hour ago, Diamond_Jim said:

The issue has always been that you can't have three highly paid forwards on your list.

 

You mean like Hawkins, Cameron and Rohan/Rataugalea, Lynch, Reiwoldt and soon Callum-Jones, Kennedy, Darling and Allen, Buddy, Heeney and Reid, Hipwood, Daniher and McStay, Naughton, Bruce and Wallis/English, Mihocek, DeGoey and Cox, McKay, McGovern and Curnow etc etc.

8 minutes ago, binman said:

Also, he is actually not that young given he is 24 in a few days and is in his 6th season

Just for reference, Gawn at 23 years of age played 9 games in that season, averaging 10 disposals and 14 hitouts.

IMO 23/24 is still 'young' for a key position player. Some come on quick, some don't.