Young West Coast star Harley Reid will play his first ever game at the MCG on Sunday

For the first time in his career – junior or senior – Harley Reid will step onto footy’s biggest stage on Sunday – the MCG. And, as MARK DUFFIELD finds out, he was made for these moments.

The year was 2022 and Harley Reid was a 17-year-old bottom-ager sent to defence at a critical stage of a National Under 18s title clash between Vic Country and South Australia in Adelaide.

He took two game saving marks. One, recalls AFL talent ambassador Kevin Sheehan, was a “Leo Barry” style screamer.

“He stood on shoulders – I can still picture it. It was over in South Australia against South Australia and Vic Country had a win and he took a couple of grabs, one in particular was a bloody screamer. And he was the bottom aged kid. At that stage – if you didn’t know before that – you knew you had someone special.”

Fast forward to the next game – a title decider against Vic Metro back in Melbourne and Reid got thrown forward to try and win the game late.

“He kicked two goals in five minutes and nearly won the game – all of this in his 17th year and that game was probably his first one at Marvel Stadium. We were just going: Wow. He is going to be watching for a year or two!”

Harley Reid takes a big mark of Mattaes Phillipou as a bottom-ager at the under-18 national carnival in 2022. Picture: Kelly Barnes/Getty Images

Now lets step further forward into more familiar territory: In the round 10 AFL clash between West Coast and Melbourne this year, Reid wheels away from a centre square stoppage, starts heading east then veers north and heads west bouncing three times before kicking a goal of the year contender with Christian Petracca in his wake.

These are the snapshots of Harley Reid in a big moment on a big stage.

On Sunday, he will play his first ever game on football’s biggest stage – the MCG.

And we are all wondering just what he might be capable of because if Reid has shown anything so far – he likes a big moment.

It is a big game for Melbourne, who is trying to keep its top-eight hopes alive from its current 12th position on the ladder.

It is a big game for West Coast, who is trying to keep the wolves from coach Adam Simpson’s door after an insipid effort against Hawthorn last weekend.

And it is hard to believe – even at 19, and in his first year of AFL football, that this will be our first look at Reid on football’s most hallowed turf.

Most young stars like Reid would play in a grand final curtain raiser at the ground but in 2022 Reid had played in an under 18s grand final earlier in the week and so was rested.

Sheehan recalls Reid and Hawthorn’s Nick Watson running water for the other youngsters on grand final day on the ‘G.

But he doesn’t expect Reid will be overawed against the Demons on Sunday, given the evidence over a short career – junior and senior.

“It is the old water off a duck’s back. It doesn’t seem to worry him. He will just get out there and have a glimpse at the stands and go how good is this, and just thrive in that atmosphere,” he said. “Every time that there is a challenge like this or an exciting opportunity – he just rises to the occasion. It has been his history in his short career.”

“He loves the heat on and he doesn’t mind the attention at all.”

Sheehan said Reid doesn’t need a grand stage like the MCG. He just needs what he understands to be a significant moment.

“He is one that has loved the big stage every single time even if the big stage has been little stages that you play on in a kid’s career,” he said.

“He stepped up to play for Carlton in what you would call their reserves. A month later he played for Essendon and in both those games he has ended up in their best players. In both cases he had a training run in the middle of the week with them – driven from Tongala and back, learned a couple of the names and nicknames and then went out and did his thing.”

Sheehan said that when Reid got drafted there was a strong suspicion he would be good but the expectation of how good has been exceeded.

Reid fends off Christian Petracca. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

And it was the game when the whole country took notice. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

“You can’t project that he is going to be wheeling out of the centre and going virtually a few steps the wrong way (against Melbourne last time) then wheel around and take three bounces and kick a goal. That was unbelievable. He has had contenders for goal of the year and mark of the year as well as having big influences on the outcome of games at times.

“That is a kid that is doing stuff that is beyond his years and I suppose it hasn’t surprised us too much because he had excited us for two or three years anyway at underage level.

“Everyone that follows this level of footy got on board and said well this kid is pretty exceptional. We have seen plenty of evidence of it.”

This is a big game for Reid in more ways than just his first game at the mighty G.

The early-season promise shown by the Eagles has stalled and they have lost their last five games. Reid was frustrated, and ultimately suspended, during the clash against St Kilda when he copped his first hard tag.

He missed losses to North Melbourne and Essendon and, while he was a long way from West Coast’s worst against Hawthorn, there was no searing impact on the game.

Sheehan wants his deeds, and his hiccups, kept in context.

“Yeah he is going to make some blunders and have some slight ups and downs but he has still had a big impact and he has excited the fans and that is why people go to the footy,” he said. “They want to see kids like this do what we think are quite unbelievable things and match it with the best.”

“Even playing inside midfield and stuff like that he has given glimpses of as well.”

Sheehan pointed out that a three year snapshot of Reid’s career spanning junior and senior football has seen him excel – in big moments – in all areas of the ground. And this is an AFL career that is 13 games old and should stretch out beyond 200.

“In a short period of time he has played at both ends of the ground and in the middle and been exceptional in every spot he has played over the years we have been able to see him play,” he said. “It is now over four years that we have seen him emerging and all we can do is look forward to the next 10.”

Originally published as Young West Coast star Harley Reid will play his first ever game at the MCG on Sunday