Former AFL stars Gerard Healy and Nathan Jones have questioned the non-selection of Melbourne forward Sam Weideman amidst their current tall injury crises.
After Tom McDonald went down with a Lisfranc injury before Round 12, and Max Gawn suffered a syndesmosis ankle injury on Monday, the door seems wide open for the 24-year-old to get a stretch of games in the senior side and prove his value to the average Demons of late.
However, it was instead journeyman forward Mitch Brown who was given the nod in Round 12 and also played in Monday's loss to Collingwood.
Gerard Healy told AFL Nation that now is clearly the time for Weideman to be given a shot at cementing his spot in the side and that if he doesn’t get a chance, his time may be up at the Dees.
“Surely (Sam) Weideman gets selected, I know his form hasn’t been super but isn’t it now or never for the ‘Weid’,” Healy said.
“If you're not in this side, given he’s committed to Melbourne and ignored plenty of offers, it's now or never both for Melbourne to find out about him and him to find out about himself.
“He was selected at the draft as a forward/ruck, and this is the role that’s opened up, so it just seems common sense and logical that he’s got to be in.
“So it’s a statement if he’s not.”
302-game Demon legend and former captain Jones agreed with Healy’s sentiment and thought the forward, signed until the end of 2023, should be an automatic start given the players that are currently missing.
“I was actually shocked when we heard about the extent of the (Tom) McDonald injury and how long he’d be out, automatically in my mind I thought ‘here’s (Weideman’s) chance, and he wasn’t picked,” Jones said.
“He isn’t necessarily crashing the door down with his form, but it’s just an obvious choice for mine and they went a different way with (Mitch) Brown.”
Melbourne is on their bye but will return in Round 15 for a huge Thursday night blockbuster at the MCG against a rampaging Brisbane side vying for the top spot.