Essendon will miss defender Sam Weideman following an unsuccessful appeal at the VFL Tribunal on Tuesday. The tribunal upheld his charge for rough conduct, initially issued by the VFL Match Review Panel (MRP) for an incident involving Carlton’s Harry Lemmey during a Round 11 match.
The MRP had classified the incident as careless conduct with high impact and high contact, resulting in a three-match suspension. This could have been reduced to two games with an early guilty plea. However, Essendon contested the decision in hopes of either reducing the suspension or dismissing the charge altogether, aiming to have Weideman available for selection across both VFL and AFL levels.
Ultimately, the Tribunal maintained the three-game ban imposed on the tall Bombers player.
We will be challenging Sam Weideman's three-match VFL suspension for rough conduct.
The tribunal will sit next week. pic.twitter.com/sIAcFQNr9t
— Essendon FC (@essendonfc) June 12, 2024
Weideman’s suspension means he will be absent from upcoming matches across both AFL and VFL levels. In the AFL, he will miss games against West Coast, Geelong, and Collingwood, as well as the next three weeks in the reserves.
Additionally, he will be unavailable for VFL matches against Gold Coast, Collingwood, and Port Melbourne.
Under VFL coach Blake Caracella, Weideman has been playing in a defensive role and has averaged 12.4 disposals and 5.6 marks in nine appearances.
Despite featuring in 16 games last season under Brad Scott, Weideman has yet to make an AFL appearance this year for Essendon.
