It was the era of mullets and moustaches; a time when tight shorts and lace-up jumpers were the trends; and when footy expansion meant national, not international as it does today.
Remember the ‘80s?
If you can, you will recall it as one of the most volatile periods in Australian football history. It was a time of seismic change which dragged a near-broke Victorian Football League – with its 12 parochial clubs who played predominantly on suburban grounds each Saturday afternoon (often on muddy grounds) – towards the Australian Football League of today – when 18 clubs play in every state and territory at an assortment of times during the day and night (often under a roof).
If can’t recall them, you missed a remarkable decade for the game, and for Collingwood.
But don’t fret; Collingwood Forever plans to transport you back in time each week for a blast from the 1980s past, profiling a player who made an impact for one reason or another during that decade. They might not have all been stars, but each contributed to one of the club’s most tumultuous periods.
Mark Weideman
There are few more powerful names at Collingwood than Weideman.
So when you are the son of a dual premiership player, an inspirational stand-in captain of one of the club's most unlikely but celebrated flags, and one of the game's leading enforcers, it was no surprise there was going to be pressure associated.
That was Mark Weideman's football lot, one about which he never complained. It just went with the surname.
He handled the pressure and expectation he carried with him since he was a kid with exceptional talent. Frustratingly, as time went on, the issues with his body, was something he couldn’t beat, and it reduced his time and effectiveness at Collingwood.
The son of club great Murray Weideman, who played 180 games and kicked 262 goals across 11 seasons, Mark would end up playing only 28 games for the Magpies, including 20 in his debut season. He was unlucky to miss out on playing in the 1981 Grand Final.
But the powerfully-built forward was hampered across his next three seasons in Black and White by a series of knee and thigh injuries which sadly dulled his pace - never his strongest suit - costing him the chance of playing more regular VFL football.
Mark had been only 14 when his father returned to Collingwood from Adelaide to Melbourne to coach the Magpies for the 1975 season.
Already big for his size, and showing outstanding natural ability and strength, he was signed up at that stage to the Magpies, with the knowledge that should he continue to develop as a player, he would get his chance in Black and White one day.
Murray's time as coach with the Magpies wasn't a success. He lasted only two seasons before returning to South Australia.
Mark's progression as a football saw him become one of the best 16-year-olds in Australia in the late 1970s, with his footy future seemingly assured.
He could play centre half forward, like his father, as well as centre half back, and was even capable of pushing through the midfield on occasions in his early years.
Such was his prominence during one of the underage carnival games a kid from Western Australia turned in a good game on him, and received a call-up from Richmond soon afterwards. The kid's name was Brian Taylor.
Taylor would recall: "In the final against South Australia, I managed a few kicks in a losing side as a centre half-forward on Mark Weideman and received a telephone call from (Noel) Judkins on my return to WA. (Weideman) was playing senior football in SA at the time."
Mark recalled of his junior days: "I suppose I had a fairly outstanding junior record, but when you get to senior level, everyone's the same size and I've always lacked pace slightly."
While his father debuted for Collingwood as a 17-year-old, in 1953, Mark was selected for West Adelaide a full year earlier. He made his debut in the SANFL at 16 years and 106 days in 1978, and went on to play more than 40 games with West Adelaide.
It seemed a natural progression he would cross to Collingwood, which he did for the 1981 season, where he was coached by the man who had replaced his father, Tom Hafey. He had a task to break into a side that had played in the previous year's Grand Final, but the club was confident he could do it.
After some impressive performances in the reserves, Weideman was selected for his debut game in round five, 1981, after a spate of injuries hit the Magpies.
He knew he was close to a game, but hadn't been told at training on the Thursday night, and it wasn't until he had arrived at his Templestowe home later that night that he realised he would take on Melbourne - one of his dad's arch rivals when he was playing.
A fresh-faced Weideman explained to The Age in the lead-up to the game: "Dad was pretty happy when I telephoned him in Adelaide and told him I had finally made it.”
“I thought I was close to being picked, but I had no indications I would be playing until I heard the team at home. I thought I was a chance with Craig Stewart out injured."
Wearing the No. 31, Weideman ran out for the Magpies at Victoria Park on ANZAC Day, 1981, and while he only had seven disposals, he managed two goals in Collingwood's 63-point win over the Demons.
Three generations of footballing Weidemans: Murray, Sam and Mark.
It was the start of 20 consecutive games for the 19-year-old, a fine achievement in a team considered a premiership chance once again.
Playing sometimes at centre half forward, sometimes in the forward pocket, and occasionally as a back-up ruckman, Weideman showed good potential. He wasn't quick, but could take a nice mark, and was a good finisher with the ball in his hands.
He kicked at least one goal in his first five games and managed 23 majors for his debut season - fourth at Collingwood behind Peter Daicos (76), Craig Davis (55) and Craig Stewart (26). His best haul for the season was four against South Melbourne at the SCG, which was a forerunner game to the Swans' move to Sydney in 1982.
He was named as Collingwood's best player in that game, according to a few newspapers.
The attention he received at Collingwood was an eye-opener for Weideman, and not just because of his surname. He would say later: "I came from West Adelaide where you would get no-one turn up to watch training and you come to a club where hundreds of people turn up. It’s pretty mind blowing.
"It’s like going from a little country town to Hollywood. The expectation to do well is there all the time so there is all that pressure."
He kept his spot in the team off the back of solid form, though selection pressure came as the Magpies pushed towards the finals. He only had two touches in the final round of the season against Fitzroy, with his father Murray blaming his choice of apparel as much as anything else for his performance.
Murray said after that game: "He's never played a game in a long-sleeved guernsey in his life, it would have been uncomfortable with so much more weight in the arms."
Still, the proud dad made the road trip from Adelaide to Melbourne to watch when his son played in his first final, against Geelong, in the Qualifying Final the next week.
Weideman had eight disposals and kicked a goal, but was dropped for the first time the following week for the Elimination Final against Fitzroy.
A reprieve came on two fronts. Ross Brewer kicked a late goal to keep Collingwood's season alive against the Lions, and ruckman Peter Moore tore his hamstring, providing a possible lifeline for Weideman.
He was selected for the 1981 preliminary final against Geelong, playing forward as Stuart Atkin took over Moore's ruck role. Weideman had 10 disposals, didn't hit the scoreboard and had 10 hit outs, but knew he was likely to make way for Moore if he proved his fitness.
As it transpired, Weideman missed his chance of playing in a VFL Grand Final, when Moore was chosen to play, even though he was still not 100 per cent right. It must have hurt the young Magpie as he watched from the stands as Moore struggling to have an impact, as the Magpies went down by 20 points.
Still, 20 games in his first year seemed the perfect platform from which to launch a long and successful league career.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the case, when injuries began to intervene.
He would say: "I had 20 games in my first year and a clean run with injuries. Then you think it is going to go forever."
"It’s easier when you are actually playing when so many people want to talk to you about your father and what he did in the ’58 premiership.
"You enjoy the success, but then things turn the other way and you have the lows in your footy career."
Weideman next played in Round 5, 1982, kicking two goals and having 13 disposals against North Melbourne. Frustratingly, he finished the game with torn shoulder ligaments, bringing on an extended stint on the sidelines.
That year in 1982 was a fractured, unhappy season, not dissimilar to his father's final year as coach six years earlier. And the next time Mark Weideman played - in round 15 against North Melbourne again - the Magpies had a caretaker coach Mick Erwin, who had briefly been a teammate of Murray's.
They were his only two games of 1982.
A series of debilitating knee injuries began to dog Weideman and stop him from getting any chance of game continuity.
He started the 1983 season in strong form, kicking five goals - from six kicks - in the round one game against Melbourne, which was overshadowed by Peter Moore's defection to Melbourne.
Weideman played the first three games of the season, but injuries and inconsistent form made opportunities hard to come by. He was back for two games late in the season, and then could muster only one more match in the 1984 season.
Having debuted in Black and White as a 19-year-old, he was gone from Victoria Park before his 23rd birthday, losing a battle with his body and unable to achieve his childhood dream of winning a premiership with the Magpies, as his father had done in 1953 and 1958.
He tried out at Fitzroy, but didn't manage a senior game. Weideman said: "I had only played three reserves games and I was getting nowhere with my fitness ... the third time I tore it (thigh), I decided to give it away."
Still, that wasn't the end of his footy journey.
One of his close mates, Brett Weatherald, coaxed him down to Coburg in the VFL and that ultimately led Weideman to the success he had craved, albeit at VFA level.
While admitting his knee would "blow up" after matches, he won a best-and-fairest with Coburg in 1987, was a member of the club's back-to-back premiership sides in 1988-89, and was selected on the bench in Coburg's team of the century.
The Weideman story remains an evolving one, too.
Mark's son, and Murray's grandson, Sam was drafted by Melbourne as pick nine in the 2015 National Draft. A key forward, like his dad and his grandfather, he looks to have a bright future in the game.
The Electrifying Eighties
Written by Glenn McFarlane and Michael Roberts
A lasting impact: Greg Phillips
A loved rover's big year: Matthew Ryan
A comet in the Magpie sky: Phil Walsh
Sweet sixteen and a senior debut: Terry Keays
Quiet, no fuss and got the job done: Ron McKeown
A man for all seasons: Jamie Turner
Almost ahead of his time: Bruce Abernethy
Hawke's rise and fall: Paul Hawke
Our first Indigenous Magpie: Wally Lovett
Mr Reliable: Michael Taylor
An impact beyond Collingwood: Tony Burgess
Another Shaw thing: Neville Shaw
What could have been: Russell Dickson
A flash in the pan: Darren Collins
It's not just about the name: Paul Tuddenham
A Shaw of a different kind: Gary Shaw
The Tassie boy who had no luck: Colin Alexander
