A MONTH ago, Sam Weideman wasn’t in the Melbourne side.

But not even a week ago, he was arguably Melbourne’s best player in its first finals win since 2006.

Having returned to the side, following a season-ending foot injury to key forward Jesse Hogan, Weideman has slotted into the side with aplomb and gone to another level in each of his three games back.

Last Friday night, he was brilliant, playing a major hand in setting up Melbourne’s first elimination final win over Geelong Cats at the MCG.

He booted three goals and finished with a career-high 24 disposals.

It was a stunning performance from the still only 21-year-old with 18 games to his name.

“It was an amazing night on Friday and it’s something I won’t forget – that’s for sure. To see everyone so overjoyed and just have a win like that was something really special,” Weideman told Melbourne Media.

“About a month ago, I wasn’t expecting this to happen and I just played some different games through my head. Seeing how it all panned out – I won’t forget Friday night, for sure.

“In saying that, I’ve got to move on and look towards Friday night against the Hawks – it’s going to be a pretty special game as well.”

Weideman said the team was building confidence each week, but he had no doubt that his belief had grown significantly since returning to the side against West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium in round 22.

“Belief is a massive thing and going over to West Coast – I just had to build confidence off that,” he said.

“I feel like I belong now. To have the belief from the other boys now is a pretty cool thing to have. I’m just taking each week as it comes and I’m loving every minute of it – and I’m loving my footy at the moment.

“We’re all feeding off one another and the belief just keeps on growing, so we’re going to take a lot out of Friday night, but the Hawks are going to be a hard team to beat and we’ve got to be up for it.”

Weideman said his grandfather Murray, who captained Collingwood’s 1958 premiership against Melbourne, and his father Mark, who also made played for the Pies, were “stoked” with his performance.

“I was with them on the weekend to talk about the game and talk about how much it meant for one another,” he said.

“It was awesome – to see the emotion on granddad’s face and for him to see the win and to see how my game panned out – it was pretty awesome to see.

“How much it meant to him – it was pretty special to see and it was something I’ll really cherish.”