Cody Weightman returns early to training after five knee surgeries as Bulldogs target Will Darcy at the draft

Cody Weightman has endured a torrid 18 months on the injury front, but is hoping to hit the ground running on day one of pre-season. Plus, the Dogs’ quest for another Darcy brother.

Cody Weightman is hopeful of making a full return from five knee surgeries that destroyed his 2025 season as he gets a headstart on teammates with an early training block at Whitten Oval.

Weightman had surgery to fix a damaged kneecap but was then placed on the inactive list after a series of complications that required him to go under the knife on four more occasions.

At one stage he had nine litres of antibiotics flushed through his knee to try to rid the joint of a dangerous infection as the knee swelled instead of healed from repeated treatment.

The Dogs are optimistic he is now on the mend and will be able to get through most of the pre-season after he had his own holiday in Europe while his teammates attempted to qualify for finals.

He has recently been in America for Marcus Bontempelli’s wedding but will return to training as the 1-4 year players prepare for a mid-November start to their pre-season.

Cody Weightman is hoping to complete a full pre-season. Picture: Michael Klein

He had established a reputation as one of footy’s most dangerous small forwards before his season was wiped out and coach Luke Beveridge will hope he and Rhylee West can form a dangerous partnership in 2026.

The Dogs last week delisted Jason Johannisen and Caleb Poulter and have decisions to make this week on Oskar Baker and Nick Coffield.

The club’s decision not to trade Buku Khamis to Carlton means list spots are tight, but both will believe they have done enough to hang on into 2026.

The Dogs need to have enough picks to have draft options to secure Will Darcy, son of Luke and brother of Sam, if they match a bid for the father-son in the November draft.

He is not as advanced as his brother but at 198cm has height and athletic gifts and so while the Dogs seem certain to take him he would be a project player.

Recruiting boss Michael Regan said recently the club had to be aware of comparing him to his brother but acknowledged he had some “unique and special attributes”.

“Obviously we need to make sure that we cover ourselves through the draft. The important part with Will is that he has a long-term focus on his career which we do too.

“Will has had less exposure to the pathways than most players and he has a lot of developing to do. He’s a really exciting prospect in terms of what he can do on field and a really good person off it – from a good family.”

Beveridge also needs to find another key defender after the failure to land a replacement for the retiring Liam Jones in the trade period.

He could consider training father-son Jordan Croft in defence in periods of the pre-season to give him flexibility after the No. 15 overall draft pick impressed with four goals in two late-season games.

Originally published as Cody Weightman returns early to training after five knee surgeries as Bulldogs target Will Darcy at the draft