Opinion
Hawthorn defender Josh Weddle is the Round 10 Rising Star nominee after a dominant performance against West Coast in Launceston on Sunday afternoon.
Weddle is a Templestowe junior, proudly claimed by Eltham High School even though he completed the final year of his VCE at Carey, but it is Ivanhoe Grammar who find themselves dealing with a combination of devastation and pride as he is the son and nephew of Old Boys who are both life members of the Old Ivanhoe Grammarians Football Club.
Weddle came from the clouds in 2022 after a significant growth spurt meant that he went from hard running midfielder (he has been a state level middle distance runner) to strong bodied key defender.
Standing 192 centimetres, he won plaudits for his defensive nous as well as his ability to play on either tall or small opponents – playing on Harry Sheezel amongst his half a dozen NAB League matches, and Aaron Cadman and Harry Lemmey in his four games for Vic Metro at the National Championships.
His athleticism is obviously a key strength, using it to great effect when spoiling and rebounding from defensive 50, and whilst his disposal needs a bit of tidying up the mechanics appear sound.
Weddle was touted as a late first or early second-round draft pick, and Hawthorn gave up a fair slab of picks (No.27 in that draft as well as a future second and a future third, which will obviously come early in those rounds) to select him with No.18 on draft night.
It was a great attacking move by the Hawks, and whilst it caught everyone – including Josh himself – by surprise, Sam Mitchell said afterwards that he had wanted Weddle and the Hawks had tried to work with both the Giants and Demons (who had pick 16 and 17) to get their man.
Interestingly, and possibly this was to placate a supporter base who were a bit confused about the Hawks giving up quite a lot of draft capital for an undersized key defender, Mitchell lauded Weddle’s athletic profile and versatility and suggested that further up the ground may be where he finds his permanent home.
It didn’t take long for that athleticism to come to the fore with stories of this big lump of a lad leaving Finn Maginness and Changkuoth Jiath (both very accomplished athletes) in his dust, igniting numerous Hawks supporter forums and social media.
Photos of him streeting the field during a time trial at Caulfield Grammar also went viral, but when the footballs came out that excitement was tempered somewhat as he looked a little uncomfortable in the midfield whilst also appearing tentative when playing in defence.
His smooth, loping run was still prominent, but it was clear that he would need to build confidence in himself as well as his understanding of the game plan before potentially taking the competition by storm.
He dealt with some niggling injuries but his form at Box Hill was steadily improving as he was beating his direct opponents, as well as providing run and intercept marking in defence. He is undoubtedly already built for AFL football and it was obvious that he would not be a regular at City Oval for long, especially after a 27-disposal, 10-mark performance in Round 5 against Coburg.
His three senior games prior to Sunday’s breakout game had shown promise and there was certainly enough for Hawks supporters to be optimistic about – especially as his much-vaunted athleticism looked like it would be just as valuable at AFL level as it has been at lower levels.
(Photo by Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Even though West Coast, beset by injuries to what feels like just about every one of their best and most experienced players, put up little fight, Weddle was excellent from the start on Sunday, winning contests, rebounding from defensive 50 and using that hard running capability to get forward and boot two goals.
Like the Hawks, he didn’t stop there, though, amassing 28 touches to go with his seven marks and nearly 500 metres gained. For anyone that is a good day out, let alone a 192cm 18-year-old making just his fourth appearance. Consider Hawks supporters excited, even though there is a real understanding that he is still very inexperienced and there will be ups and downs as he and the club work out where he is best suited in the long term.
It’s between Sheezel and Will Ashcroft for the gong (with the bookies 100 per cent agreeing), but more performances like Sunday’s will bring Weddle into calculations. It is a shame Mitchito Owens will be missing when the Saints and Hawks clash this weekend as two young bulls going head-to-head would’ve been great theatre.
He’s a hard one to place. The Hawks are hoping that he’ll be like Mark Blicavs, but Jack Henry – a teammate of Blicavs at the Cats – is a good comparison.
His defensive nous and natural ball-winning capabilities, combined with his body size and running power, mean that he should be a relatively safe bet to play lots of senior football.
Whether he reaches significant heights will be based on whether he can become a true utility, and if not, whether he can be part of a defence that can utilise his athleticism without being weakened by his lack of height – basically, a long way of saying he probably needs to be the third tall more often than not if his future lies as a staple in defensive 50.
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