{"id":718137,"date":"2026-06-06T02:27:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T02:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/718137\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T02:27:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T02:27:15","slug":"i-was-emotional-that-day-stars-near-retirement-reveal-after-637-day-return-hawk-calls-out-racial-abuse-afl-daily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/718137\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I was emotional that day\u2019: Star\u2019s near retirement reveal after 637-day return; Hawk calls out racial abuse \u2014 AFL Daily"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cody Weightman was beaming from ear to ear after his first AFL game in over 600 days. <\/p>\n

But the Bulldogs gun has admitted he considered retirement after falling out of love with the game during the low points of his injury rehab.<\/p>\n

Plus Mabior Chol has called out disgusting racial abuse. Read on in AFL Daily.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Watch every match of every round of the AFL Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

WEIGHTMAN\u2019S NEAR RETIREMENT REVEAL AFTER 600-PLUS DAY RETURN<\/p>\n

You couldn\u2019t wipe the smile off Cody Weightman\u2019s face after his first AFL game in over 600 days.<\/p>\n

Weightman returned from chronic knee injuries in the Bulldogs\u2019 thrilling comeback win over Hawthorn on Friday night at the MCG<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But while the star small forward was beaming from ear to ear in the jubilant Dogs rooms, he admitted there were low times during his rehab when he \u201clost a bit of love for footy\u201d and considered giving the game away. <\/p>\n

Until a \u201cmoment\u201d of realisation when he \u201cfelt the love\u201d from teammates in his first run back on the track.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like there was patches there was patches there where I didn\u2019t know if my body was going to let me (get back),\u201d Weightman told Fox Footy post-match.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you sort of lose a bit of the love for footy, and was sort of deciding even if I wanted to play for a bit there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI reckon I did my first run and just felt the love from the team and everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really emotional that day, it was sort of the moment I realised I want to play again and did want to be a part of it and rip into my rehab.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is why, I guess. To have mum and dad down here, your mates, see everyone and the energy of the room. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no job in the world that will replicate it. I\u2019m just glad I get to do it again and hopefully there\u2019s a few more in me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll do the hard stuff later, instead of now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cody Weightman and Arthur Jones of the Bulldogs after the song (Photo by James Wiltshire\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n

READ ALSO<\/p>\n

\u2018WON\u2019T LIKE IT\u2019: AFL\u2019s newest \u2018antagonist\u2019 responds to rival\u2019s sledge after ugly fan incident<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018KEEP ME UP FOR A COUPLE OF NIGHTS\u2019: Mitchell rues stark Hawks flaw in \u2018disappointing\u2019 fadeout<\/a><\/p>\n

IN AND UNDER: Inside four-club Butters race; Dons\u2019 \u2018complicated case\u2019 for AFL help<\/a><\/p>\n

Weightman recorded 11 disposals and didn\u2019t hit the scoreboard in managed game time at under 70 per cent.<\/p>\n

But the 25-year old, who hasn\u2019t played at any level since the Elimination Final loss to Hawthorn in 2024, said it was \u201ca really good game to be part of\u201d and \u201cjust nice to be part out there\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore the new rules and stuff I had to get used to. Hard to anticipate turnover when you don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening sometimes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Hawks play quick, and so do we, so I knew it was going to be quick.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually surprised myself, I\u2019ve done a lot of jogging in rehab, so I think I had a bit of a tank.<\/p>\n

\u201cManaged minutes definitely helped, I was coming off a few times. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe body felt fine, the club got me ready. I was doing rehab sessions that I was trying to make harder than VFL, so it felt like I was actually bridging the gap.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know there was some talk around whether I was going to be right or not, but we\u2019ve got a great medical team, so trusted them and I felt great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weightman said it \u201cfelt like my debut again\u201d early in the week and that he was \u201ca bit nervous to go to bed and think about the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

But those nerves very much calmed as the game drew closer in \u201cthe least anxious\u201d he\u2019d \u201cever been\u201c before a match and greater appreciation to simply be healthy.<\/p>\n

The drive into the ground with Arty Jones singing along to his \u201cbeats\u201d certainly seemed to help!<\/p>\n

\u201cThe closer we got, it actually felt better and you get a bit more control,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe drive in was good, I live with Arty Jones, so drove in with him. He plays his beats and fires me up. He was good, he sings the whole way in, I was just on my phone, cruising.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really cool, I wasn\u2019t actually as nervous as I thought I\u2019d be.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I don\u2019t know, it was really interesting. Probably the least anxious I\u2019ve ever been to play, I normally get pretty anxious to play.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think I was a bit more grateful than normal, probably. Just to look around and appreciate what I\u2019m doing and not knowing if I\u2019d ever do it again, I suppose. It was a nice feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018DON\u2019T BE LIKE THIS GUY\u2019: CHOL CALLS OUT DISGUSTING RACIAL ABUSE<\/p>\n

Hawthorn forward Mabior Chol has called out disgusting racial abuse on social media after Friday night\u2019s fiery loss to the Western Bulldogs. And the Hawks have this morning pledged to \u201cwork closely with the AFL\u201d on the matter.<\/p>\n

Chol took to Instagram to re-share a screenshot of a series of abhorrent messages he received from a user.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can talk s*** all you want but don\u2019t be like this guy,\u201d Chol said in a caption on his Instagram story after his three-goal performance.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the first time Chol has been targeted by racist trolls.<\/p>\n

The goalkicker called out racial abuse on social media in 2022<\/a> while he was a member of the Gold Coast Suns after a three-goal game against Carlton. <\/p>\n

Hawthorn forward Mabior Chol has called out disgusting racial abuse on social media after Friday night\u2019s fiery loss to the Western Bulldogs.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n

The AFL Players Association hit out at the troll on Saturday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbuse, harrassment, and racial vilification of our members is never OK. This behaviour doesn\u2019t belong in our game,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur players should never be subjected to the abhorrent messages that Mabior received last night.<\/p>\n

\u201cMabior has shown great courage in calling it out and the AFLPA supports players reporting this behaviour to the relevant authorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cMabior has access to our full support services.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement issued on Saturday, Hawks CEO Ash Klein condemned the abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cHawthorn Football Club strongly condemns the vile and appalling racist social media messages Mabior Chol received following Friday night\u2019s match,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is simply not acceptable. There is no place for racism in our game and in our society. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are the sort of person who thinks it\u2019s ok to make a comment or send a message like this, we don\u2019t want you as part of our game. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe commend Mabior\u2019s courage in calling this out and we stand with him. Our immediate focus is on wrapping our arms around and supporting Mabior. <\/p>\n

Hawks star Mabior Chol has called out the racial abuse he received.Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n

\u201cHawthorn Football Club is working closely with the AFL on this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

AFL CEO Andrew Dillon issued his own statement on Saturday morning, stating the fan was \u201cnot welcome\u201d in the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe AFL strongly condemns the vile and racist social media messages sent to Hawthorn player Mabior Chol following Friday night\u2019s match,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRacism has no place anywhere, anytime – not in our game, not in the community and not online. Players, or anyone, should never be subjected to this sort of abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be clear, if you think this behaviour is acceptable, then you are not welcome in our game.<\/p>\n

\u201cMabior\u2019s courage to call this out should be commended and our immediate focus is supporting him and the Hawthorn Football Club. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe AFL Integrity Unit will work with the club on this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cody Weightman was beaming from ear to ear after his first AFL game in over 600 days. But…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":718138,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,67818,64,63,55,639,684,348292,303608,348289,348295,348291,348299,2105,9130,348298,7492,168436,33693,14402,348290,348300,12911,348296,1314,85,348293,348297,348294,698],"class_list":["post-718137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-arthur-jones","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-ben-cotton","tag-chronic-knee-injuries","tag-cody-weightman","tag-day-return","tag-disgusting-racial-abuse","tag-emotional-day","tag-fiery-loss","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-gold-coast-suns","tag-hawks-flaw","tag-hawthorn-hawks","tag-injury-rehab","tag-james-wiltshire","tag-mabior-chol","tag-managed-game-time","tag-near-retirement-reveal","tag-racial-abuse","tag-run-back","tag-social-media","tag-sports","tag-three-goal-game","tag-three-goal-performance","tag-ugly-fan-incident","tag-western-bulldogs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=718137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/718138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=718137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=718137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=718137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}