Sam Weideman's teammates showed him too much empathy, says Brian Taylor

Tom Naghten

Sam Weideman's teammates showed him too much empathy, says Brian Taylor image

Young Melbourne forward Sam Weideman was visibly distraught after he missed the kick that would have won his side the game on Saturday night.

Weideman had a set shot from 40 metres out directly in front with seconds on the clock in the Demons' loss to Adelaide in Darwin.

The 21-year-old pulled his shot to the left, seeing the Dees go down by two points, leaving them on three wins for the season.

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Following the final siren, most of Weideman's teammates comforted him and he was seen emotional in the change rooms some time later.

Though commentator and former key forward Brian Taylor thinks Weideman should have been allowed to stew on the miss a little longer.

Speaking on Talking Footy on Monday night, Taylor said his teammates showed Weideman too much empathy.

"They all go up and they say 'bad luck mate, you missed that.' Why?" Taylor said.

"He missed the goal, the game was lost as a result, he already knows he hasn't done the best thing for the team.

"A litte bit of empathy? A smidgen, but too much in my liking.

"Just let him cook a little, and then perhaps in the rooms later on, the coach can point out that there were 20 other things that happened in the game that could have been corrected before that."


Star ruckman Max Gawn missed a similar shot a few minutes earlier and said he had spoken to Weideman since the game.

"I had a good chat with Weids yesterday and we're both sort of feeling the same and it's actually good for us to feel that we did cost the team," Gawn said on RSN on Tuesday.

"Against Geelong last year I used it as a driver for the next four or five weeks and played some really good footy.

"I told Weids that and we're both disappointed that we missed shots on goal late in the game."

Melbourne meet Collingwood in a blockbuster Queens Birthday clash at the MCG this Monday.

Tom Naghten

Tom Naghten Photo

Tom Naghten is a senior editor at The Sporting News Australia where he's been part of the team since 2017. He predominantly covers boxing and MMA. In his spare time, he likes to watch Robbie Ahmat's goal against the Kangaroos at the SCG in 2000.