Jump to content


Recommended Posts

Posted (edited)
39 minutes ago, Satyriconhome said:

Some keyboard warriors taking the opportunity to land a few kicks, pathetic on your part.

In the draft there was supposedly 3 of the best young talls in a while, all pundits, commentators etc agreed,  Josh Schache, Aaron Francis and Sam Weideman, all 3 went top 10, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Interestingly the knock on all 3 is aggression, perhaps the game evolved too quickly for them. 

I agree and remember this. Allegedly Schache and Francis went head to head that year (as a FWD and BACK) to which Schache came out on top. If I recall correctly he also kicked some record number of goals? or something to that effect. Charlie Curnow was also highly touted but had some form of police misdemeanor prior to the draft. On draft night then commentator Sando expected us to select a tall either Weideman (first named) or Curnow (second named)... then it went over to Roosy.

Edited by ignition.
  • Like 1

Posted
1 hour ago, jumbo returns said:

Settle down - no one said that they were bad people

Can't critique footy ability?

It is how it is critiqued.

I thought both Sam and Josh Schache both lacked aggression in the contest, which again seems a prerequisite, and it is how I expressed it in my post, others prefer more derogatory critiques, playing the man?

Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, ignition. said:

I agree and remember this. Allegedly Schache and Francis went head to head that year (as a FWD and BACK) to which Schache came out on top. If I recall correctly he also kicked some record number of goals? or something to that effect. Charlie Curnow was also highly touted but had some form of police misdemeanor prior to the draft. On draft night then commentator Sando expected us to select a tall either Weideman (first named) or Curnow (second named)... then it went over to Roosy.

Harry McKay and Eric Hipwood were first round draft picks that season as well. Lots of big forwards to pick from. Unusual to see so many in one season as first round draft picks and the lower picks turned out the best of the lot. Obviously the talent pool was diluted.

Edited by John Crow Batty
  • Like 1
Posted

Lost confidence in Weed when he missed that goal against Adelaide that would've won it.

But good luck to him in what he does going forward.

  • Like 3
Posted

Sam was always going to take time. The more time that went on the more he seemed to get in his own head which worked the other way. His first year at Casey looked great and then it all went downhill.

Sam had that awesome elim final against Geelong. I'll always remember him for that mark over Blicavs in the first and the look of shock on Blicavs face. I was there that night with 95k people and reckon I've watched the highlights a minimum of 50 times 

This is how I will choose to remember him.

  • Like 14

Posted
7 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

Everyone always focusses on the mongrel like it’s 1985 but to me big Sam had 3 issues:

1. Confidence, you could see it drain from his body. Even with a fresh start at Essendon he looked so much better until the year went on and he struggled again

2. Mobility. This was hurt by the repeated injuries he suffered, even before he was drafted. You have to be able to turn, jump, explode on the lead to beat key defenders these days. Young Weid had a bit of burst but it never developed.

3. Reading of the play. Was never easy in the Melbourne forward line but Sam always seemed a step behind the play to lead up at the ball or to pick the flight of the footy in the air. He wasn’t overtly physical but he was brave in the air and could crash a pack, but so often defenders had done him in before the contest was even occuring.

Nah, still think its mostly mongrel ... then maybe confidence

Posted
7 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

Everyone always focusses on the mongrel like it’s 1985 but to me big Sam had 3 issues:

1. Confidence, you could see it drain from his body. Even with a fresh start at Essendon he looked so much better until the year went on and he struggled again

2. Mobility. This was hurt by the repeated injuries he suffered, even before he was drafted. You have to be able to turn, jump, explode on the lead to beat key defenders these days. Young Weid had a bit of burst but it never developed.

3. Reading of the play. Was never easy in the Melbourne forward line but Sam always seemed a step behind the play to lead up at the ball or to pick the flight of the footy in the air. He wasn’t overtly physical but he was brave in the air and could crash a pack, but so often defenders had done him in before the contest was even occuring.

Er...focusses on the mongrel....have you not listened to the coaches or Tim Lamb lately, Kentfield "he is aggressive" JVR "another young player who likes the contest" etc etc

Posted
1 hour ago, BAMF said:

Sam was always going to take time. The more time that went on the more he seemed to get in his own head which worked the other way. His first year at Casey looked great and then it all went downhill.

Sam had that awesome elim final against Geelong. I'll always remember him for that mark over Blicavs in the first and the look of shock on Blicavs face. I was there that night with 95k people and reckon I've watched the highlights a minimum of 50 times 

This is how I will choose to remember him.

Thats the only memory I have of him


Posted
1 hour ago, Satyriconhome said:

Er...focusses on the mongrel....have you not listened to the coaches or Tim Lamb lately, Kentfield "he is aggressive" JVR "another young player who likes the contest" etc etc

That post was about Sam Weidman and Sam alone.  The players you mentioned are irrelevant to the point being made. 

Posted
1 hour ago, Satyriconhome said:

Er...focusses on the mongrel....have you not listened to the coaches or Tim Lamb lately, Kentfield "he is aggressive" JVR "another young player who likes the contest" etc etc

And? We target a type of tall forwards and Sam was one of those types when we drafted him. 

Others disagree but I thought Weid never had many issues with attacking the ball or man. He just couldn’t do a lot of the rest of the game for the reasons I outlined.

Posted

To be honest, I wouldn't complain if the club picked him back up to provide us more depth in the talls. He'd be cheap as chips and upgrade to Schache.

  • Like 2
  • Shocked 1
Posted

I was at the club when Ray Jordan was coach of the U19 and Reserves his criteria was players who had no mongrel will never make it in the AFL on ability alone.

The combination of mongrel and ability like Cripps, Petracca etc

  • Like 2
Posted

Sam's a nice guy, but unfortunately ended up somewhere between an excellent VFL player and a genuine AFL forward.

Apart from an occasional purple patch he never kicked enough goals to justify becoming a first-team regular.

Sadly, in the contested battlefield of the inside 50 zone, he just did not seem to relish the contest.

But at least he can look back on  an AFL career, which is more than most players ever achieve.

 

  • Like 2
Posted
11 hours ago, Kent said:

What has that got to do with anything wishing and hoping for Sam to come good was cruel and damaging

Early decision required in this instance

You w we outed “he was never going to be”

I am simply stating that he was a better footballer than Dean Kent who as you may well know dislikes him as a footballer and you have unfortunately chosen him as your poster name, as homage I  can only presume but really it is a reminder of our poorer times and that have kept him on our list far too long he as injury prone and iMO a poor plate all round. 
Justafiably he also failed  at the Saints which  I gleefully remind you of. 
Yes Sam was an an enigma and did have  ability but inwardly he seemed restricted in his confidence and self belief which prevented him playing with any physical sense.  Cale Morton and the late Colin Sylvia were also underperforming Dees with talent who we had great hopes for. 
Simolt my point is that Weid Cale and Colin all had a great level of ability. 
Your namesake did not possess such skills and clogged up our list far too long  

Posted
4 hours ago, 58er said:

You w we outed “he was never going to be”

I am simply stating that he was a better footballer than Dean Kent who as you may well know dislikes him as a footballer and you have unfortunately chosen him as your poster name, as homage I  can only presume but really it is a reminder of our poorer times and that have kept him on our list far too long he as injury prone and iMO a poor plate all round. 
Justafiably he also failed  at the Saints which  I gleefully remind you of. 
Yes Sam was an an enigma and did have  ability but inwardly he seemed restricted in his confidence and self belief which prevented him playing with any physical sense.  Cale Morton and the late Colin Sylvia were also underperforming Dees with talent who we had great hopes for. 
Simolt my point is that Weid Cale and Colin all had a great level of ability. 
Your namesake did not possess such skills and clogged up our list far too long  

the discussion was about Sam. I don't give a fig what you think of Kent or any body else

Some on here have difficulty in accepting that Sam was not up to it Kent also 

The club should make hard decisions earlier and not just hope players come good only to have them whither on the vine

Posted

If the Weed doesn’t get picked up in the drafting process we should bring him home.

A rookie posting or maybe an on field leadership position at Casey with the possible view of a mid season selection.

People talk about culture, this guy has it in truckloads.

  • Like 2
  • Haha 1
Posted
2 hours ago, Kent said:

The club should make hard decisions earlier and not just hope players come good only to have them whither on the vine

If I have a criticism of our player management it is that we are too kind to our playing group, especially in terms of length of contracts etc.  When you realise you have made a mistake you need to acknowledge and move on quickly.  Even in Sams case he got an offer from Essendon and moved on, admittedly with our blessing.

 

All the best Sam.

Posted (edited)

I remember Gawn saying Weideman’s best position was as a ruck/fwd. It did kind of seem like a bit of a backhanded compliment - as though he would never be good enough as a key forward alone. Still, Gawn must have been at least somewhat impressed by his ruck potential.

In hindsight, we really wouldn’t have been any worse off had we instead given Weideman the opportunity to play that role instead of recruiting Grundy, but he probably wouldn’t have offered much more than Van Rooyen has and certainly less forward.

I wouldn’t be against his recruitment, but on the condition he didn’t impede Jefferson’s development in the forward line.

Edited by wisedog
  • Like 1

Posted
14 hours ago, Demons1858 said:

Nah, still think its mostly mongrel ... then maybe confidence

Yep and the end of the day... who cares, History!

  • Like 1
Posted
2 minutes ago, wisedog said:

I remember Gawn saying Weideman’s best position was as a ruck/fwd. It did kind of seem like a bit of a backhanded compliment - as though he would never be good enough as a key forward alone. Still, Gawn must have been at least somewhat impressed by his ruck potential.

In hindsight, we really wouldn’t have been any worse off had we instead given Weideman the opportunity to play that role instead of recruiting Grundy, but he probably wouldn’t have offered much more than Van Rooyen has and certainly less forward.

I wouldn’t be against his recruitment, but on the condition he didn’t impede Jefferson’s development in the forward line.

A BIG FAT NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Posted

He was a NQR, I am sure he gave it his best. I will always remember that final series and the game against Geelong. Let's end the canning comments ( of which I was one) Good luck with your Future Sam. 

  • Like 2
Posted
1 hour ago, wisedog said:

I remember Gawn saying Weideman’s best position was as a ruck/fwd. It did kind of seem like a bit of a backhanded compliment - as though he would never be good enough as a key forward alone. Still, Gawn must have been at least somewhat impressed by his ruck potential.

In hindsight, we really wouldn’t have been any worse off had we instead given Weideman the opportunity to play that role instead of recruiting Grundy, but he probably wouldn’t have offered much more than Van Rooyen has and certainly less forward.

I wouldn’t be against his recruitment, but on the condition he didn’t impede Jefferson’s development in the forward line.

When Melbourne and Essendon needed him most, he couldn't deliver.

He's 27 years old.

It'll never click.

  • Like 3
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, seventyfour said:

When Melbourne and Essendon needed him most, he couldn't deliver.

He's 27 years old.

It'll never click.

I’m not suggesting we should, and I think it’s virtually no chance of happening. I’m only saying based on Gawn’s previous comments, the only role he could plausibly fill would be as a ruck/fwd.

The Club clearly doesn’t see Fullerton as being able to play this role, Tom Campbell is a ‘break glass’ option, Verrel is still too raw, and most of us would like to see JVR played solely as a key forward. On those grounds, if he was a rookie listed player, the only risk of him returning would be impeding the development of younger players at Casey, but I also think he could be a serviceable key back if necessary.

Edited by wisedog
Posted

Why on earth would people think he'd be a good recruit? He's not good depth, he averages maybe one decent game a year and goes missing for the rest. He had his shot, he's not good enough.

  • Like 1
  • Clap 1

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Demonland Forums  

  • Match Previews, Reports & Articles  

    TRAINING: Friday 22nd November 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers were out in force on a scorching morning out at Gosch's Paddock for the final session before the whole squad reunites for the Preseason Training Camp. DEMONLAND'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS It’s going to be a scorcher today but I’m in the shade at Gosch’s Paddock ready to bring you some observations from the final session before the Preseason Training Camp next week.  Salem, Fritsch & Campbell are already on the track. Still no number on Campbell’s

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports 3

    UP IN LIGHTS by Whispering Jack

    Those who watched the 2024 Marsh AFL National Championships closely this year would not be particularly surprised that Melbourne selected Victoria Country pair Harvey Langford and Xavier Lindsay on the first night of the AFL National Draft. The two left-footed midfielders are as different as chalk and cheese but they had similar impacts in their Coates Talent League teams and in the National Championships in 2024. Their interstate side was edged out at the very end of the tournament for tea

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Special Features

    TRAINING: Wednesday 20th November 2024

    It’s a beautiful cool morning down at Gosch’s Paddock and I’ve arrived early to bring you my observations from today’s session. DEMONLAND'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Reigning Keith Bluey Truscott champion Jack Viney is the first one out on the track.  Jack’s wearing the red version of the new training guernsey which is the only version available for sale at the Demon Shop. TRAINING: Viney, Clarry, Lever, TMac, Rivers, Petty, McVee, Bowey, JVR, Hore, Tom Campbell (in tr

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports

    TRAINING: Monday 18th November 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers ventured down to Gosch's Paddock for the final week of training for the 1st to 4th Years until they are joined by the rest of the senior squad for Preseason Training Camp in Mansfield next week. WAYNE RUSSELL'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS No Ollie, Chin, Riv today, but Rick & Spargs turned up and McDonald was there in casual attire. Seston, and Howes did a lot of boundary running, and Tom Campbell continued his work with individual trainer in non-MFC

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports

    2024 Player Reviews: #11 Max Gawn

    Champion ruckman and brilliant leader, Max Gawn earned his seventh All-Australian team blazer and constantly held the team up on his shoulders in what was truly a difficult season for the Demons. Date of Birth: 30 December 1991 Height: 209cm Games MFC 2024: 21 Career Total: 224 Goals MFC 2024: 11 Career Total: 109 Brownlow Medal Votes: 13 Melbourne Football Club: 2nd Best & Fairest: 405 votes

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 12

    2024 Player Reviews: #36 Kysaiah Pickett

    The Demons’ aggressive small forward who kicks goals and defends the Demons’ ball in the forward arc. When he’s on song, he’s unstoppable but he did blot his copybook with a three week suspension in the final round. Date of Birth: 2 June 2001 Height: 171cm Games MFC 2024: 21 Career Total: 106 Goals MFC 2024: 36 Career Total: 161 Brownlow Medal Votes: 3 Melbourne Football Club: 4th Best & Fairest: 369 votes

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 5

    TRAINING: Friday 15th November 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers took advantage of the beautiful sunshine to head down to Gosch's Paddock and witness the return of Clayton Oliver to club for his first session in the lead up to the 2025 season. DEMONLAND'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Clarry in the house!! Training: JVR, McVee, Windsor, Tholstrup, Woey, Brown, Petty, Adams, Chandler, Turner, Bowey, Seston, Kentfield, Laurie, Sparrow, Viney, Rivers, Jefferson, Hore, Howes, Verrall, AMW, Clarry Tom Campbell is here

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports

    2024 Player Reviews: #7 Jack Viney

    The tough on baller won his second Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy in a narrow battle with skipper Max Gawn and Alex Neal-Bullen and battled on manfully in the face of a number of injury niggles. Date of Birth: 13 April 1994 Height: 178cm Games MFC 2024: 23 Career Total: 219 Goals MFC 2024: 10 Career Total: 66 Brownlow Medal Votes: 8

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 3

    TRAINING: Wednesday 13th November 2024

    A couple of Demonland Trackwatchers braved the rain and headed down to Gosch's paddock to bring you their observations from the second day of Preseason training for the 1st to 4th Year players. DITCHA'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS I attended some of the training today. Richo spoke to me and said not to believe what is in the media, as we will good this year. Jefferson and Kentfield looked big and strong.  Petty was doing all the training. Adams looked like he was in rehab.  KE

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports
  • Tell a friend

    Love Demonland? Tell a friend!

×
×
  • Create New...