Eagles back $20-million man Reid to handle the hype
Reid's contract status has hit the headlines again this week after his manager Nick Gieschen flew to Perth to have further talks with the Eagles.
They have tabled a number of different-length deals to Reid, whose current contract runs out at the end of 2026.
One is reportedly worth in the vicinity of $24 million over 11 years, with Victorian clubs also willing to offer long-term deals in excess of $2 million a season.
Reid is already one of the most talked about players in the league, but can the 20-year-old Victorian handle being the highest paid?
When the $20 million-plus figure was put to McQualter, the first-year coach was quick to compare it to how much he himself was paid during his final season as a player in 2012.
"My 45,000 on the Gold Coast," McQualter quipped with a laugh.
When asked about the burden of Reid becoming the highest-paid player in the league, McQualter said the pressure came from being the best, rather than the money being earned.
"For me, I'll take the contract out of it, because I think it's irrelevant," McQualter said.
"It's when you're one of the best players in the competition - there's a burden that comes with it, and that's for anyone.
"That's what comes with being a great player in our competition, and it's the skill of being able to cope with that.
"We train that from a mental perspective. It's challenging, but the best players embrace it, and they go about their business, which I'm sure Harley will be one of those."
Reid will be the centre of attention yet again when he lines up in Saturday's western derby against Fremantle.
The star midfielder has hit top form in recent weeks, and his performance in the round six derby last year will still be front of mind for Fremantle fans.
Reid tallied 19 disposals, seven clearances and three goals to lead the Eagles to an upset 37-point win, and Dockers coach Justin Longmuir said he's well aware of the "threat".
"He's a good player. He's one of the most exciting, promising young players in the comp," Longmuir said.
Given it's a Fremantle home game, Reid is set to cop plenty of boos.
Reid has a tendency to get caught up in battles with rival players or the crowd, but he showed a great deal of restraint and maturity during last week's 49-point loss to Richmond.
"I think he certainly embraces it," McQualter said of the booing.
"It's a lot for a young man to have that attention, but he seems to cope with it pretty well, and he's getting better.
"Last week, when he got thrown into a security guard, he just went and gave a fist bump to the security guard and moved on, which was pleasing to see."
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West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Motormouth Mitch: The mature Eagle who West Coast need to demand more of to help younger teammates
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That is more than enough to have an expectation put on you to lead when called upon. Williams didn't take one mark against the Dockers, which is damning enough for the 201cm powerhouse. But what was more disappointing was his lack of physicality in the contest. He laid only two tackles and there weren't any signs of him trying to impose his body on the contest. Williams should've been crashing packs and making his size felt even if it cost them a few free kicks. Instead, he was barely sighted throughout the contest. Williams is finally in his preferred role with the forward-ruck split and should be thriving as a big man about to enter the prime of his career. Shanahan and Reid are going to be good players for the Eagles, hopefully for the next decade. If they are going to get there though, they need more from the likes of Williams around them as they develop. West Coast need to demand Williams shoulders this responsibility. It's his time. Cyclone Warning There is a big watch on the form of Josh Treacy in the back half of this season as the Dockers drive towards finals. For the sixth time in the past 12 games Treacy went goalless and while it isn't affecting Fremantle yet, they will be hoping it clicks for the big Cohuna sooner rather than later. Treacy was one of the top forwards in the AFL earlier this year when he kicked 20 goals from his seven games to have tongues wagging. Since then, he has kicked only 12 in as many games, and it has seen him drop well out of the race for the Coleman Medal. I argued when Jye Amiss was battling that if Fremantle were getting six to eight goals a game out of the combination including Pat Voss it didn't matter too much. But there is a strong sense that if the Dockers are going to be more than just playing in the finals, they're going to need Treacy at his damaging best. His presence on a field can be game changing and there are few in the purple chevrons who can grasp the moment better than the intimidating 193cm beast. If Treacy can get off the leash against Carlton or Port Adelaide in the next two weeks, it could kick-start him back into the form of earlier this year. And this could be the difference between them going deep into finals or being bundled out. It's not panic stations right now, but coach Justin Longmuir would love for Cyclone Tracey to get to a category five sooner rather than later to help blow their premiership window wide open. AFL's Equalisation Woes Forget in-season tournaments. Forget 20th teams. Forget Tasmanian stadiums. The AFL has an urgent problem they need to fix and it's equalisation. For weeks now only nine teams have been able to realistically make finals and while that isn't ideal, it's just sometimes an anomaly. 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The WAFL then could've brought the league games forward a bit and likely had at least marginally bigger crowds. And a bonus is we wouldn't have had that horrible shadow over half of Optus Stadium that was an eyesore both live and on TV early in the derby. It is just a little thing for the AFL, but for WAFL clubs they are big and should be factored in better.
News.com.au
8 hours ago
- News.com.au
Roos' identity crisis amid Clarko question as ‘sickening' loss lays bare failed draft trade gamble
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The Roos fielded the second-youngest team in the competition in Round 20, with eight-game key defender Wil Dawson among those in royal blue and white tortured by Cameron and the Cats, who licked their lips each time they entered forward 50. 'Everyone will look at win-loss and all that sort of stuff, and making progress — and even if it is just win-loss, we have made some progress,' said Clarkson in his press conference. 'But we've had three performances that were well below our best, which (were) the Carlton game in Round 6 here, the Hawthorn game about a month ago down in Tassie, and tonight. 'But outside of that, we've been much more competitive than what we were last year, winning more quarters and being in more games at three-quarter-time than we had last year.' But while Clarkson continues to preach that non-linear progress continues to be made at Arden Street, the Roos' list management's choice to trade away the club's first-round pick this year has come back to bite hard. Last November, North Melbourne — banking on a significant uptick this season — traded its future first-round pick to Richmond to secure the No.27 selection, key-position utility Matt Whitlock, who has played just one senior game in his debut season. That future choice is currently slated to wind up as the second overall pick. Injecting young talent isn't as urgent for the Roos as it has been in previous seasons, but given the stagnancy of this season, it's premium draft capital they'd absolutely love to have this off-season. 'I think they thought they would be further progressed, because they did trade that pick away,' Clark said on Fox Footy. 'Would they have traded that No.2 pick away if they thought they were going to finish second-last on the ladder? No way. They thought they would be up the ladder; they thought they would improve, that's why they gave that pick away. 'So, it tells you that they thought they would be better than they're at; that's really clear.' 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West Australian
8 hours ago
- West Australian
Fremantle Dockers forward Murphy Reid compared to Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury as Rising Star calls increase
Exciting Fremantle forward Murphy Reid has been compared to 400-game superstar Scott Pendlebury as calls grow for him to win the AFL Rising Star award following a stunning western derby performance on Saturday. Reid finished third in Glendinning-Allan Medal voting behind Hayden Young and Andrew Brayshaw after a superb game where he had 23 disposals, one goal and 15 score involvements. He was the first player to have 15 score involvements in a derby since 2012 when Matt Rosa collected 43 possessions for West Coast. Teammate Jordan Clark said Reid's ability to read the play, create time and make his teammates better reminded him of Pendlebury. 'It sounds like a bit unrealistic comparing him to Scotty Pendlebury but he is a player like that who is not blessed with super speed but he sees the game and is very sharp in his mind,' Clark told The West Australian. 'He sees the game very well and he's very clean. I think he did watch a lot of Scotty Pendlebury growing up, so he's a very classy little player. I think he's got a lovely mix that works for him. 'I don't want to use it loosely and it's probably disrespecting Scotty Pendlebury in a way because he's one of the greatest players in the game. 'But you watch him and he's in positions where you think someone shouldn't get out of that, but he does. He's not a fast bloke, he's not massively built, he's just clever and classy. I think he thinks and sees the game ahead before people see what is going to happen.' Pendlebury is on track to break Brent Harvey's all-time games record next year after playing 419 games. A dual premiership star, Norm Smith medallist, former captain, six-time All-Australian and five-time best and fairest, Pendlebury's skill, composure and ability to get himself out of trouble have made him one of the game's greats. Reid has looked perfectly at home in the AFL since kicking four goals in one quarter on debut against Geelong. He also kicked four goals against Port Adelaide. The Victorian is third favourite with bookmakers to be named the Rising Star behind Adelaide's Daniel Curtin and Brisbane's Levi Ashcroft, but Dockers coach Justin Longmuir said he'd done everything to warrant winning the award. 'If I was picking it, I'd pick him. If you looked at consistency across the course of the year, he would have been the most consistent first-year player,' Longmuir said. Curtin rocketed into favouritism after a huge month for the Crows. He was best on ground against Richmond with 26 possessions and two goals to kick start a wonderful run of form. The West Aussie also had 26 touches and one goal against the Western Bulldogs, then collected 20 possessions and kicked a goal against Gold Coast. He received AFL Coaches' Association votes in all three of those games. Curtin performed well against Port Adelaide on Saturday night too, finishing with 22 possessions and four clearances. Drafted at pick eight in 2023, Curtin had to be patient as the Crows looked for his best position. He was either subbed on or off in four of his seven games last season and played as tall defender or half-back before finding his niche on the wing this season. Ashcroft spent the majority of the season as the favourite after stepping straight into Brisbane's team during their premiership defence. He had 25 possessions on debut and was influential in the first QClash of the season with 29 disposals. Ashcroft is averaging 19.5 touches and 1.8 clearances per game while also kicking 10 goals for the season. But after making a splash on debut, it's been Reid's consistency that has been the hallmark of his game. The young Docker has had more disposals than Curtin, kicked more goals, had more score involvements and only slightly trails the Crow for tackles and clearances. Reid is on the verge of becoming the first Docker to kick 20 goals, have 20 goal assists and 100 score involvements since Matthew Pavlich in 2015. He currently has 19 goals, 17 goal assists and 106 score involvements with four home-and-away games remaining and the possibility of finals. Only Andrew Brayshaw, Shai Bolton and Caleb Serong have had more score involvements than Reid at Fremantle this season and the Dockers were thrilled when he signed a new contract until the end of 2029. The Dockers selected Reid at pick 17 in last year's national draft after watching him excelling for Sandringham Dragons. He spent time in the midfield during the pre-season but quickly showed his talent as a forward which has allowed him to become an important part of the team. While his class has shone out, Glendinning-Allan medallist Hayden Young said it was only a matter of time before Reid becomes a midfielder and plays alongside himself, Brayshaw and Serong in the centre-square rotation. 'He's got beautiful touch, he's super elusive and he's a very crafty player,' Young said. 'I thought he was outstanding for a bloke who's not that big. He's very hard to tackle. 'He's going to be a great player for us and I'm really happy with the brand of footy he's playing at the moment. Hopefully he can keep developing. I'd love to see him get through the midfield in the years to come.'
