Jim Main's greatest 100: Murray Weideman
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CONTROVERSY follows some footballers around wherever they go, and former Collingwood ruckman Murray Weideman never seemed to be free from controversy, to the very end of his playing and coaching careers. Weideman almost certainly was one of the most colorful characters to represent Collingwood. He was a larger than life footballer, always catching public at tention, either on or off the ground.
Weideman started his football career with Collingwood in the early 1950s as a raw, skinny teenager. He played in the Under 19s and worked his way through to the Reserves. By the 1953 season he was ready for League football, but the Magpies wisely bided their time. However, he was greatly honored when the Magpie selectors named him a reserve in the 1953 Grand Final. What a VFL debut! Collingwood won their first post-war flag that year, and Weideman, still a 17-year-old kid was part of a Magpie premiership in his first senior match. No kid could have had a better introduction to League football. Weideman virtually was born to a football career with a Magpie tradition to live up to because of this.
Weideman soon developed into a handy ruckman for the Magpies, although only about 6' 2". He was too light early in his career, but after the 1954 season put himself on a weight program to build up his strength. With added strength Weideman became the biggest name ruckman in the VFL. He was tough and fearless, a great worker for the Magpies and one of the most feared men in the VFL. He played his first game for Victoria in 1956 when still aged 20, and went on to represent the State five times, from that year to 1960.
Weideman was known as "The Enforcer” during his playing days because of his tough guy image. If a Collingwood player was unfairly felled, Weideman was sure to be around to even up the score. He was never a dirty player and didn’t look for trouble, but heaven help the player who tried to ruffle Magpie feathers.
Weideman was a great team player, often risking his own neck and limb to help Collingwood. He was also a great mark, especially when resting on the forward line. He was dangerous near goal and often headed the goal tally for the Magpies after a game. In fact, he even headed the Magpies’ goalkicking list three times during his career. He did that in 1959, 1960 and 1962. The 1962 season was a great year for “The Weed”, as he also won his third Copeland Trophy as Collingwood’s best and fairest that year. He previously won the award in 1957 and 1962. Only champion rover Bob Rose had won more (four) Copeland Trophies, with Len Thompson breaking that record with his fifth win in 1977.
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Although Weideman played his first VFL match in a successful grand final team, he spent most of his career in the shadow of the great Melbourne teams. However, a dream came true for Weideman when he led Collingwood to a premiership in 1958. Regular skipper Frank Tuck was out injured, and Weideman was given the task of leading the team into a supreme effort to prevent the Demons equalling their four flags in a row record. Collingwood did just that and Weideman was the uncrowned king of Collingwood.
Weideman stayed at the club until the end of the 1963 season, after being appointed regular captain in 1960. He was slightly overweight when he retired from the VFL scene, but quickly got down to his correct playing weight as captain-coach of~country club Albury the next season. Weideman led Albury to a flag in 1966 before accepting a position as coach of South Australian club West Adelaide in 1968. West finished in the four only once under Weideman and he finally retired in 1971.
He then coached junior sides in Adelaide until the start of the 1975 VFL season as Magpie coach. The Collingwood fans had called for the return of The Enforcer to help rekindle Collingwood’s flame. Weideman couldn’t do it, and in fact, led them to last place for the first time in their proud history in 1976. That was a bitter year for the Magpies, the club being ripped apart by a row between Weideman and club president Mr Ern Clarke. Weideman resigned late in the season and headed back to Adelaide and the quiet life. Weideman had his feet up at last.
Footnotes
This is an excerpt from Australian Rules 100 Greatest Players, by Jim Main, published by the K.G. Murray Publishing Company in 1978. Click here to read Jim Main's 2013 article, in which he revisited and revised his 100 greatest players.
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