Mark Weideman knew his son wanted to follow the path set by both he, and Mark's father Murray.  So he called his young son out.

"I was a bit overweight back in the day," Sam Weideman recalls.

"[Dad] said 'if you really want to make it as a footballer and have a successful junior and senior career, you've probably got to work a little bit harder and put things into place, and try to play the best footy you can'."

Looking at him now, you wouldn't believe that Sam was ever considered by anyone to be heavy. But a stripling though he may be, concerns over Sam's condition appear to have persisted. Just this week he attended a special pre-draft screening, and recorded an underwhelming 12.4 in the beep test, and 3.21sec in the 20m sprint.

But just that he is up and running is something in and of itself.

To paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, there are several knowns and unknowns when it comes to Sam Weideman. At 196cm and 94kg, Weideman is an enticing key forward prospect, and tipped to go early in Tuesday night's draft. We know he can take a mark. But we haven't seen much of him.

In the biggest year of his football life, he's been off the park. "I did my ankle on my right side in May – that was the second one.

"I did the first one in pre-season, last November. It's been a long process since then.

"As my program is getting more intense, it will pick up over time."

Physical issues aren't new for Sam. Before the ankles it had been an iron deficiency that caused fatigue last year. He accepts that things haven't gone his way. "I really wanted to get some continuity in my game this year, and play my best footy, with it being my top-age year.

"It'd be challenging to go and watch people go on top and play some good footy out hear and that stuff.

"But you take the good with the bad I suppose."

Yet the still 18-year-old, who recently completed Year 12 at Whitefriars College, remains on track to continue the family dynasty. Mark, who Sam describes as his greatest football influence, played 28 games for the Magpies in the early 1980s, while Murray captained the Pies to their 1958 flag.

But where Adam Treloar picked Collingwood over Richmond, Sam Weideman went the other way. He's a Tigers fan. "A lot of people are surprised. People ask how the parents and granddad would react. But I stay true to the Tigers and stick by them."

So for as long as Sam can remember he's been pursuing an AFL career, and trying to emulate his footy hero Matthew Richardson. But he's also had to carry that surname. "There is a little bid of added pressure I suppose. You try not to put yourself under too much stress but obviously what my dad and grandpa have done has sort of set the path for me and hopefully I can follow in their footsteps and do them proud I suppose."

It hasn't all been a happy family story either. Sam's parents split when he was eight, and he alternates week at their respective homes. "It's obviously very tough when you're a kid having to go through that, but it was also a learning experience as well and taught me a lot."

Nevertheless, he is close with his older siblings, Matthew and Emily, and his younger step-siblings James and Olivia. Sam shouldn't have too many problems dealing with the fourth estate. He's been briefed by Matthew, who works at AFL Media. "He's taught me a lot of stuff in that area."

Not that Sam, a self-professed "footy head", should have any problems understanding the footy media. He watches "a lot" of footy, and "a lot of programs during the week on Fox Footy".

In fact, his back-up to football is still football. Sam is striving for a place in a sports management course at LaTrobe. He wants to be a player agent, and has spoken to his own agent – Ben Williams – about the idea. "He says it's a very enjoyable role and he strongly encouraged me to do that."

First things first though. Sam has playing targets he wants to achieve. After Tuesday night there will be greater clarity. "It's a very nervy time. But I just try and soak it all in. It's a very exciting time as well."