Melbourne forward Sam Weideman is set to be traded to Essendon this off-season according to The Age’s Michael Gleeson.
The report suggests Weideman will join the Bombers for a future third-round selection after the 25-year-old played much of last season in the VFL.
Since being taken with pick No.9 in the 2015 Draft, the key forward has kicked 62 goals from 59 games across seven years, with his highest tally coming in 2020 as he kicked 19 goals from 13 appearances.
In response to the report, Essendon great Matthew Lloyd says the Demon is “worth the risk” for the pick the Bombers will give up in a trade.
“I suppose if you’re getting him for not much, you’ve got nothing to lose,” Lloyd said on AFL Trade Radio.
“I said earlier in the week that he has to get out, Weideman, because there were reports they (Melbourne) were going to keep him.
“I said he had to move, he had to walk into the club and say, ‘I need out of here, because if you’re playing Mitch Brown ahead of me, well I need to move on because you don’t have the faith in me’.
“You think it’d be for a third-rounder, you wouldn’t give any more than that, and I suppose it’s worth the risk on him.
“But he’s got to get more competitive, he’s got to get nastier, if he doesn’t take the mark, he’s poor at ground level.
“He rucked in the Grand Final at VFL level, he fought pretty hard in wet conditions, but when he comes up to the AFL level, he’s just really lacked confidence. That may be because he’s always in-out, in-out.
“He’s got the talent, but he hasn’t had the fight at AFL level to prosper consistently.”
Essendon has had success before with getting the best out of former top-10 picks, with Peter Wright going on to win the club’s best and fairest this season after being traded by Gold Coast for a fourth-round selection at the end of the 2020 season.
Gleeson says the Bombers are hoping for a similar return from Weideman who has underdelivered since being taken early in his draft year.
Essendon have also been linked to Carlton midfielder Will Setterfield, with a trade reportedly nearing for the 24-year-old, while Aaron Francis is expected to depart for Sydney.