No Harley spells big problems for struggling Eagles
Reid's future remains a huge talking point, with the 20-year-old's manager in deep talks with West Coast about a possible contract extension.
There are reports Reid could command in the vicinity of $24m over 11 years - numbers that have never been seen before in the AFL.
West Coast are being urged against committing such a large sum to a single player.
But such is the on-and-off field worth of Reid, the Eagles may end up doing a deal worth in the vicinity of $20m.
Harley Reid is an absolute star 🤩#AFLFreoEagles pic.twitter.com/5Ks3YpwkMy
— AFL (@AFL) July 26, 2025
Reid has been one of West Coast's best players this season, but he'll miss the final four matches of the campaign with a syndesmosis injury.
Given West Coast are also without Elliot Yeo (ankle) and Jack Graham (suspension), the Eagles will roll out their weakest midfield of the season against Melbourne's star-studded on-ball brigade at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
Tim Kelly and Liam Baker are the remaining old heads that could be employed in West Coast's engine room this week, with youngsters such as Elijah Hewett, Clay Hall, Brady Hough and Tom Gross set to be handed a big responsibility over the back-end of the season.
Reid is contracted for 2026, but there's no guarantee he will stay long term.
Even when Reid was playing, West Coast were by far the worst clearance team in the league this season.
It means there could be plenty of pain in store when the Eagles round out their season with games against Melbourne, Adelaide, Western Bulldogs and Sydney.
"It's not easy, but it's been like that for most of the year," Eagles coach Andrew McQualter said.
"So we've seen great growth. We've seen Elijah Hewett, We've seen Brady Hough grow.
"We've seen Clay Hall come and play through the midfield.
"So sometimes when you're put in a position where we have been, it's not been short-term benefit, but it will be long-term benefit."
West Coast (1-18) are headed for their third wooden spoon in the space of three years.
But all of the heat on Saturday will be on the 6-13 Demons, who coughed up a 46-point three-quarter time lead in last week's six-point loss to St Kilda.
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin is under all sorts of pressure, and former Demons assistant McQualter is expecting his old club to come out firing.
West Coast welcome back key defender Harry Edwards (hamstring), while the Demons will unveil former Eagle Jai Culley.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
7 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Pakistan wins 3rd T20 by 13 runs to clinch a 2-1 series victory over West Indies
LAUDERHILL, Fla. (AP) — Saim Ayub posted a half-century in a 138-run opening stand with Sahibzada Farhan and then took a key wicket as Pakitsan beat West Indies by 13 runs Sunday to clinch the Twenty20 cricket series 2-1. Pakistan posted 189-4 and then bowled tightly enough to restrict West Indies to 176-6. Pakistan's opening partnership ended when Farhan was out for 74 runs in the 17th over, his 53-ball innings finishing when he hit a low full-toss from Shamar Joseph (1-57) directly to Shai Hope at long-off. Ayub continued until the last ball of the penultimate over of Pakistan's innings, when he hit a full ball from Jason Holder (1-34) to Sherfane Rutherford in the covers and was out for 66 from 49 deliveries. West Indies raced to 33-0 after two overs in reply, taking 16 off the first over from Hasan Ali and 17 in the second from Mohammad Nawaz. Haris Rauf slowed the run-rate in the third over, which only went for five runs, and then snared the first West Indies wicket when he had Jewel Andrew (24 from 15 deliveries) caught by Hasan Ali in the fifth over with the total at 44. Alick Athanaze scored 60 from 40 deliveries, sharing further partnerships of 30 with Hope (7) and 36 with Rutherford until he mis-timed a fuller, faster delivery from Ayub and was caught at short thirdman. At that point, West Indies slipped to 110-3 in the 13th over. The series was tied 1-1 going into the decider after Jason Holder took four wickets and then smashed a boundary off the final ball of the second game to lift West Indies to a thrilling two-wicket victory on Saturday. It was the first T20 victory for West Indies in seven matches, a span that included a heavy 5-0 series defeat to Australia, on top of a test series sweep last month. Pakistan won the series-opener by 14 runs. ___
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NFL Veteran Rushed To Hospital After 'Illegal' Tackle At Practice Sunday
NFL Veteran Rushed To Hospital After 'Illegal' Tackle At Practice Sunday originally appeared on The Spun. A veteran member of the Colts backfield reportedly suffered a severe lower leg injury during Sunday's training camp practice after being taken down by an illegal hip-drop tackle during a live session. According to Stephen Holder of running back Salvon Ahmed was immediately taken to the hospital for X-rays after grabbing at his ankle in serious pain. Per the Colts beat reporter, Ahmed's ankle "was stuck in an awkward position" after being tackled from behind by undrafted free agent Trey Washington at the goal line and players immediately gathered around said a prayer for their teammate. The 26-year-old was then placed onto a stretcher and carted off the field. Head coach Shane Steichen talked about the situation during today's media session and explained how hard it can be to simultaneously manage injuries while also attempting to build a physical football team that's ready for the regular season. "Never want to see that happen," Steichen said. "I know we don't encourage hip-drop tackles. I know Trey's down in the dumps, and I don't think he's trying to do that. We're just trying to create an edge. ... Those [backups] are going to have to tackle come preseason." "I think training camp is where you want to create the edge and the toughness and the identity of your football team, so you have live periods," the coach explained. "There's a lot of thoughts going on in my head during that situation. I talked to some of the leaders on the team. We wanted to get that last 2-minute situation in. Felt that we needed that. They were on board with that." Ahmed also went undrafted out of Washington but caught on with the Miami Dolphins for four seasons before coming to Indy where he signed as a FA earlier this year. We certainly send our best to Ahmed and his family and hope he comes back stronger than Veteran Rushed To Hospital After 'Illegal' Tackle At Practice Sunday first appeared on The Spun on Aug 3, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'How on earth': Alex de Minaur 'point of the year' leaves tennis world gobsmacked
Alex de Minaur has extended his winning streak to seven matches ahead of the US Open after a thrilling victory over Frances Tiafoe at the Canadian Open. The Aussie clinched the 6-2 4-6 6-4 victory over the seventh-seeded American that included an extraordinary moment that some fans around the tennis world have described as 'the point of the year' in Toronto. De Minaur has been in sensational form after winning the Citi Open title in Washington last week, and is now unbeaten in his last eight matches, with one of those being a walkover against compatriot Chris O'Connell in the previous round in Canada. The win over Tiafoe has also seen de Minaur clinch a special piece of Australian tennis history, courtesy of the 212th hard court triumph of the 26-year-old's careeer. That draws him level with Pat Rafter for the second-most hard-court victories by an Australian man in the Open era, behind only Lleyton Hewitt, who has a staggering 372 wins. De Minaur has also climbed to No.8 in the world standings after entering last week's Citi Open ranked World No.12. De Minaur has a chance to leapfrog Novak Djokovic for an equal career-high ATP singles ranking of World No.6 if he can go all the way and lift the title in Toronto. And on current form, the ninth-seed must be considered a red-hot chance after taking down Tiafoe in a round of 16 clash between two of the tour's best movers, to set up a quarter-final showdown against another American, Ben Shelton. The Aussie got off to a lightning-fast start, racing through the first set 6-2 before Tiafoe regrouped in the second to force the match into a decider. De Minaur's renowned return game held him in good stead as he converted five of the 10 break points he set up during the match, compared with the American's three of seven chances. Tennis world erupts over extraordinary Alex De Minaur point The stunning victory came off the back of an incredible defensive display from the fleet-footed Aussie, which included a point that left the tennis world in disbelief. De Minaur looked down and out after being forced to retrieve two powerful forehands to the corner from Tiafoe, before showcasing his never-say-die spirit to chase down a seemingly irretrievable ball that caused the American to half-volley into the net. Alex de in the name of the Tennis Gods was that. Defense out of this WORLD. 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 — The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 3, 2025 That was point of the year from Alex de minaur. — Tennis pro trader (@TennisProTrader) August 3, 2025 Wow! How did De Minaur win that point? 😯😯 — Big Dawg (@avndon_) August 3, 2025 OH MY GOODNESS WHAT IS THAT POINT FROM DE MINAUR AGAINST TIAFOE — JM3 (@JM3Hoops) August 3, 2025 De Minaur point of the on earth did he win that point at 4-4 40-40???? — Lockright (@LockrightPK) August 3, 2025 That was incredible — Mofe (@nigriffic16) August 3, 2025 "It was never going to be easy, and Frances has the ability to turn the switch on whenever he wants, so it is always very tricky to put him away," de Minaur said after the match. "I think I battled him, myself and the conditions, and I am happy to sneak away with the win today." The Australian will be looking for an improvement on his service game though, after landing just 42 per cent of his first deliveries. Tiafoe hit more aces than de Minaur (10 to six) and more winners (29 to 23), but the American also gave up more free points with unforced 49 errors, compared with 35 from his opponent. It continues de Minaur's impressive build-up to the US Open, where the two-time quarter-finalist will be aiming to reach at least the first grand slam semi-final of his career. De Minaur has reached the last-eight all four majors but is yet to progress past that hurdle. His form on hard courts this season should fill the 26-year-old full of confidence though, with de Minaur looking to avenge his defeat to World No.1 Jannik Sinner in the 2023 Canadian Open final, by going one better this year. De Minaur must first get past Shelton in the final-eight in Toronto after the American beat Italy's Flavio Cobolli 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7/1) in their round of 16 clash. RELATED: Jannik Sinner triumph could force Aussie coach to backflip on exit call Flood of support after tennis rocked by news about Wimbledon finalist The Aussie will be joined in the quarter-finals by compatriot and defending champion Alexei Popyrin, with the 18th seed set to take on top-seeded German Alexander Zverev on Tuesday morning (AEST). Popyrin's giant-slaying run has already included wins over top-10 seeds Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune. with AAP
