Sam Weideman, grandson of Collingwood legend Murray, top prospect in 2015 AFL Draft
THE Weideman name will return to the AFL soon with the grandson of Murray Weideman one of the best power forwards in the 2015 draft.
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THE famous Weideman name will return to the AFL soon with the grandson of Collingwood premiership captain Murray Weideman one of the best power forwards in the 2015 draft.
Eastern Ranges 197cm key forward Sam Weideman will be one of the few genuine tall prospects in next November’s draft, following on in the footsteps of his grandfather and father Mark.
Mark Weideman played 28 AFL games at Collingwood, with all three Weidemans key forwards or ruckmen.
Adelaide-based Murray Weideman is a Collingwood legend: 1953 premiership player, 1958 premiership captain, Team of the Century member and triple Copeland Trophy winner.
Sam Weideman started his second-last TAC Cup season on fire with some freakish performances before suffering an iron deficiency and ankle stress fracture that were both diagnosed late in the year.
He says he would love to follow in the footsteps of his family as a Collingwood player but his real priority is just getting a start somewhere.
“Getting drafted is my AFL dream. Ever since Auskick I have wanted to play AFL footy and to follow in my dad and grandad’s footsteps is a major thing and something that has given me that extra drive,’’ he said.
“Grandpa has always been there supporting me through juniors and given me those extra tips he used in the day. He has been a tremendous support to me and so has my mum and dad.
“A lot of people ask me if I am Murray’s grandson and they always tell me how good he was and what a legend he was back in the day. It definitely adds a bit of pressure but I just want to keep my feet on teh ground and create my own fate.”
Recruiters hope Weideman might be able to play in the mould of Tom Hawkins given his pack-marking, with the youngster part of the AIS squad to assemble in Melbourne on Sunday.
He was concussed attempting a crazy-brave mark early in the TAC Cup season but a health issue in the second half of the year caused more concerns.
“It set me back quite a bit. I had a shocker one day and said, ‘Dad, I can’t run out there’, and they took a blood test and my results came back.
“The doc said I don’t know how you are running around, you are almost anaemic. I got an iron infusion and two weeks later I was back up to 100 per cent.”
Post-season surgery to remove a bone spur also identified an ankle stress fracture, but Weideman hopes he can be injury free next season to push up the draft ladder.
Mark Weideman know getting to Collingwood would be tough given Sam is not a father-son candidate.
“It is something we have tried to downplay a fair bit. Grandpa is hot on it and has been driving Eddie (McGuire) made about getting him to Collingwood.
“We have tried to keep it as low-key as much as we can. He will create his own hype but he is level-headed about it.”
Originally published as Sam Weideman, grandson of Collingwood legend Murray, top prospect in 2015 AFL Draft
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