Australian Football

AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game

 

Key Facts

Full name
Dale Weightman

Known as
Dale Weightman

Nickname
Flea

Born
3 October 1959 (age 64)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 18y 180d
Last game: 33y 329d

Height and weight
Height: 170 cm
Weight: 69 kg

Senior clubs
Richmond; Australia

Jumper numbers
Richmond: 43, 3

Family links
Leigh Colbert (Nephew)

Dale Weightman

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
RichmondV/AFL1978-19932743441.2643%10.799.992.1952
AustraliaIR19863
Total1978-19932773441.24

AFL: 8,972nd player to appear, 166th most games played, 145th most goals kickedRichmond: 797th player to appear, 12th most games played, 10th most goals kicked

Tenacious, fleet of foot, and highly skilled, Dale Weightman's 1985 Tassie Medal was fitting reward for a player whose performances in a 'Big V' jumper were seldom other than exemplary. During a time when his club, Richmond, was suffering something of an ignominious decline, Weightman appeared increasingly to regard interstate fixtures as being effectively equivalent to finals football, and he approached games against Western Australia and South Australia with the same intensity, pride and determination as he had the Tigers' 1980 VFL Grand Final against Collingwood.

Always a highly effective and eye-catching interstate performer, Weightman - known popularly as 'the Flea' - was at his peak in 1985, a season which saw Victoria re-establish its pre-eminence in the interstate arena after several seasons playing second - or even third - fiddle.¹ Given a proverbial armchair ride by the consummate supremacy in the ruck of his Richmond team mate Mark Lee, Weightman cut both South Australia and Western Australia to ribbons in successive near best afield performances.

Dale Weightman's achievements as a player, which include triple All Australian selection and two Richmond best and fairest awards in addition to his Tassie Medal, are all the more remarkable when you consider that he suffered from diabetes - not that anyone watching him play with such energy, verve, determination and aggression could ever possibly have guessed.

After playing 274 V/AFL games and kicking 344 goals for the Tigers between 1978 and 1993 Dale Weightman was appointed captain-coach of Tasmanian Statewide Football League side Devonport. It proved to be a rather ignominious end to his playing career as he received suspensions totalling eleven matches, after the last of which he announced his retirement.

Author - John Devaney

Footnotes

  1. Ironically, however, Victoria was stripped of its title after a technical indiscretion by coach Kevin Sheedy.

Sources

Full Points Footy Publications

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.