MELBOURNE’S start to 2020 had just about everything.
Round 1 and Round 2 fell 83 days apart, Round 3 was postponed, and Round 5, after a change of opponent, proved to be its last at the MCG for the year.
But none of these games involved Sam Weideman.
The young key forward, who has shown plenty of promise since being selected with pick No.9 in the 2015 National Draft, was on the outer at the beginning of the season.
After the Demons trialled Tom McDonald, Mitch Brown and Luke Jackson inside 50, Weideman finally earned his chance, and never looked back.
“It was an interesting start to the year,” Weideman told Melbourne Media.
“I was probably in a position where I was really unsure where I was at and I probably needed a bit more of an aggressive attitude shift in the way I was going about it.
“I was trying to get some things going but I was probably inconsistent in a lot of areas of my game.
“I think those scratch matches at the start of the year definitely helped.
“We were lucky we were able to get them going because I was able to improve things in my game that I needed to, and it definitely held me in good stead when I was able to get my chance.”
Weideman came in and had an immediate impact for his side, kicking two or more goals in eight of his first nine games for the season.
But the coaches had a number of areas they wanted him to work on before being able to compete at the top level.
“It was a lot about my one-on-one marking work,” he said.
“I needed to start winning a lot more of them because I was probably too inconsistent, and they wanted a reliable target down there, which I probably wasn’t being.
“Once I started to get a bit more consistency in my contest work … they probably developed a bit more trust in that and I was able to go from there which was positive.”
At 195cm, Weideman was the answer to Melbourne’s forward line dilemma, playing his first game of 2020 – and 32nd of his career – against Gold Coast at GIANTS Stadium in Round 6.
“Once I got my opportunity, I had been waiting a little while, so I really wanted to grab it with both hands,” Weideman said.
“I thought once I got that first game out of the way, and I was able to impact the game, it gave me so much confidence that I actually belong and can contribute to the team in a positive way.
“It was great for my confidence and my development.”
On reflection, the season was a big step forward for Weideman.
He became the focal point of Melbourne’s forward line, being the target inside 50 on 93 occasions, taking 25 marks in the arc and booting 19 goals – second to only Bayley Fritsch in each category, despite missing four games.
But in a taxing campaign, one where he played 13 times in an 11-week period away from home, Weideman didn’t finish as strong as he started with just one major in his last four matches.
“On a personal level I probably got weighed down and didn’t finish the year the way I wanted to,” he said.
“You feel the pinch at the end of the season, especially with those four-day/five-day breaks.
“It was great learnings because I need to learn how to play as a big man.
“That’s definitely something I want to work towards, but it was a different season and it definitely took it out of you.”
For anyone who experienced life in the hub, some ebbs and flows in form wouldn’t come as a surprise.
“As well as physical, there was a lot of mental fatigue as well,” Weideman said.
“Obviously being away from loved ones, being away from Jamie (his partner) and Lucy (his dog) – it was difficult.
“You love having that support around you, and not having that puts a lot on yourself and how you attack it.”
After returning home in the week following the season's conclusion, Weideman will now enjoy a short break, and a hit of backyard cricket, before turning his attention to 2021.
