Cows surfing art Cody Weightman takes the scenic route at the Bulldogs

When season 2020 finished for the Bulldogs and they were released from their Queensland hub, this week’s man-of-the-moment Cody Weightman bought a car and did a solo road trip down the east coast, staying with friends, making calls, listening to podcasts and figuring things out. It took him a month.

He had made a stunning first impression on AFL footy, landing a boundary-line banana goal with his first kick. But he played only two more games that season. He says now those three games and his reflections on them while behind the wheel became the greatest learning experience of his life.

Cody Weightman is congratulated by Adam Treloar after kicking a goal against Essendon in the elimination final.Credit:AFL Photos

“I felt like I’d psyched myself out of the games I’d played a bit,” he said. “I didn’t give myself a chance to perform. I wasn’t mentally ready. I had a bit of performance anxiety that I was probably turning a blind eye to.

“I feel like I’ve learned how to deal with that. Understanding it for what it is gives you confidence. I just felt those games made me a better person even though they were just football games. I figured out a lot about life in general.”

Weightman had soloed previously. He was captain of Haileybury’s first XVIII, but when school footy and year 12 exams were done, and while waiting for the AFL draft, he took himself off alone off to Bali. There, invited by former Essendon winger Rick Olarenshaw, he did some training with the Bali Geckos. “But it was just to decompress, really,” he said. “It was mostly a mental breather.” By then, he knew he would be drafted.

Weightman synthesises cool cat with dedicated footballer. The youngest of four, he grew up on a 10-hectare farmlet with a few cattle on it at Beaconsfield. One Christmas when he was about eight, their father Rob made all four a proposition. “It was a bit of a strange offer. It was [to pay] $400 for a cow, with a chance to sell it for more,” he said.

Cody Weightman soars over Max Gawn earlier this year.Credit:Getty Images

“I was quite financially driven as a young fellow. I thought the fact that I could make money off a cow was quite cool. I watered the plants, got a dollar a day for that, and before I knew it, I had $400 and an Angus beef cow called Colin sitting in the paddock that was mine. I didn’t get too attached to it because I knew in 12 months I was selling it. Fortunately, it sold for $1300. Then I bought two cows. I still have two.”

But between COVID-19 and club, he rarely gets home now, and misses it. “I feel like I’m an interstate player,” he said.

Weightman learned to wakeboard and surf - that look is not just for effect - and developed an interest in art, and still combines the two to paint surfboards.

He finds painting meditative, feeding back into his footy. “I’m absolutely terrible at doing nothing. I’m convinced I’ve got a bit of ADHD. My family agree with that,” he said. “But my job needs me to rest up during the week.” His favourite subject to paint? “I like sneakers. I’m really into sneakers,” he said. “I like drawing shoes. Cartoons. Random stuff. I’m interested in the fashion industry, too.”

Western Bulldogs footballer Cody Weightman on his road trip.

But footy always came first. “Footy was the one thing I was going to make sure happened,” he said. “I made sure I ticked every single box, and if it didn’t happen, I’d know that at least I had a crack.”

At 12, he enlisted Bohdan Babijczuk as a running coach. Later, he took up with a trainer who lived in Gisborne, two hours’ drive away. Nothing was too hard. He would spend hours trying to kick a football through a basketball hoop attached to his father’s barn 30 metres away “and somehow find it entertaining each time”.

Weightman was one-eyed Collingwood. “But like a lot of non-Dogs supporters, they were my second team,” he said. He well remembers 2016 well, and is all ears when the older players talk about it now. “They had a special run, and who knows, in three more games, it could be us,” he said.

Weightman has steeped himself in Bulldogs history. Through its academy, the club teaches it to its young players. He knows all about how fans rallied to save the Dogs in 1989, though it was more than a decade before he was born.

‘I get a kick out of making other people happy. Particularly in Victoria right now.’

Cody Weightman

“Straight away, you can feel the tie to the grassroots of our club and our history. You’re proud to be part of a club that was saved by the people, and you see that,” he said. “That’s why I like playing in front of crowds so much. It’s an opportunity to give back to them. It’s probably why my footy comes across with so much joy because I get a kick out of making other people happy. Particularly in Victoria right now. It’s rewarding.”

That semi-cherubic delight has become his trademark and endears him to all except perhaps Essendon fans this week. “It helps that I’m a forward and kicking a goal or two,” he said. “There’s not too many who don’t smile doing that.”

The Bulldog breed, he has discovered, doesn’t depend on pampering. “You wouldn’t say we’ve got the facilities of some of the other clubs right now. We’re getting a big redevelopment, which we’re looking forward to,” he said. “But we almost love the fact that our spa breaks down and our sauna doesn’t work sometimes. The western suburbs feel to our club, we embrace that.”

Weightman’s footy career largely has been a matter of biding his time, not a natural condition in young men. Most of it has been in some form of isolation; this week, it is a hotel room in Launceston, then another in Brisbane. When The Age called, he had to look at the stationery to remember the hotel’s name. Weightman said being removed from football’s usual distractions helps to keep a clear and narrow focus. Otherwise, Monopoly Deal is getting him and his teammates through.

Cody and the cow: the young Bulldog keeps one or two as an investment.

As the Dogs made a flying start to 2021, he had to cool his heels until round nine. He was prepared to wait. “I wasn’t in a rush this year,” he said. “I came in when I was steady and the team was going well. The year before, I was in a rush. I wanted to try AFL footy.

“This year, I just had to stay patient, which is bloody hard to do in this industry. Nobody wants to be out of the team when there’s such good times and great memories happening in the ones. But one of the big things about this year is the players who are not playing and how invested they are in the team’s success. It really is 44 players trying to win a premiership.”

Cody Weightman and Bulldogs captain Easton Wood on draft day 2019Credit:AFL Photos

After a late-season stutter, the Dogs gathered themselves up in rainy Launceston on Sunday to thrash Essendon in an elimination final. Weightman kicked four goals, all from free kicks, infuriating Bombers fans. Were they all there? “Maybe,” he said. “All bar one.”

What was lost in the static was the liveliness and possibilities he brought to the game. Bulldogs captain Easton Wood knew nothing until recently of 1980s Richmond star Dale “Flea” Weightman - no relation - and presumed that Cody was called “Flea” because of the way he flitted around the field - and maybe could jump his height!

On social media last Sunday, a storm broke. Weightman weathered it with the help of teammates who had lived through previous episodes and tips from the club about filtering. Again, being in a hub helped. “I was more overwhelmed by the support I received,” he said. “I probably had 20 messages of support for every negative piece of feedback.

“Everyone was having a laugh. My phone just kept buzzing, non-stop, for hours on end.”

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