Harley Reid mocking Jason Horne-Francis ‘best result' for West Coast Eagles: ‘Hast to stay'
The gun No.1s were constantly at each other during Port Adelaide's battle with the Eagles on Sunday, and Reid got personal with Horne-Francis, mocking him for leaving North Melbourne after just one season in 2022.
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Reid appeared to say to Horne-Francis 'back to mummy, leave after one year,' during a fiery exchange where both players had 27 touches and hit the scoreboard.
With scrutiny around Reid's own contract at fever pitch in the West, it was certainly an interesting move from the 20-year-old Victorian who has been linked to a move back home despite being contracted on his initial draft deal with West Coast until the end of next season.
7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary said Reid had painted himself into a corner on his own future by mocking Horne-Francis's short tenure at North.
'Getting stuck into Horne-Francis for the one year and leaving, surely that's the best result for West Coast, because now Harley can't go and do that himself,' Cleary said on Channel 7's The Agenda Setters on Monday night.
Expert commentator Kane Cornes agreed, saying: 'He has to stay now.'
Cornes had said earlier in the day that Reid would 'have to at least stay for another year' after the incident, 'so that's good news for Eagles fans'.
While Reid was one of West Coast's best on Sunday, he was also undisciplined again, giving away six free kicks and a 50m penalty.
He also lost concentration in a key moment which allowed Horne-Francis to kick a goal.
AFL great Nick Riewoldt said Reid needed to make the decision about his career soon, so he could 'sink his teeth' into his AFL career.
'You want your players playing on edge and this is a guy, I think, that he's going to play his best footy when he's on that edge, but clearly at the moment he's crossing it too often,' Riewoldt said.
Reid has given away more free kicks than any other player this year (eight more than anyone else) and is a clear No.1 for free kicks against over the past two seasons.
'He might already know (where his future is at), but from the outside, it appears like the weight of of expectation and the desire for everyone to know where this guy is going to end up, for how long, for how much, all of that, it looks like to me that it's weighing on him, and he can't really just sink his teeth into a career until that decision has been made,' Riewoldt said on The Agenda Setters.
Cornes said it was now time for the leaders at West Coast to let Reid know that his undisciplined actions are 'unacceptable'.
'At some point he's going to have to grow up,' Cornes said.
'And I assume that the coach is starting to have enough of this sort of stuff and the complaints to the umpires, the in the face (to a rival player) ...
'And I just want (to highlight) one more point, so he's in the face of Horne-Francis and they're going back and forth, and there's the you lasted one year', I get all that, that's fine, no worries. We love a good rivalry.
'But then, when you go and stand next to him at the next forward stoppage, and you fall asleep and show him no respect and Horne-Francis makes you look foolish like this (and kicks a goal), this is when we've got an issue.'
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Perth Now
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The Advertiser
3 hours ago
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The Age
4 hours ago
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A golden effort, a cruel ending, a classic for the ages
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