Analysis: West Coast’s delicate balance with Harley Reid after interrupted pre-season

Harley Reid’s long-term future has dominated discussion since he arrived out west. After an interrupted pre-season, ELIZA REILLY examines the difficult choices West Coast face with their young phenom.

How West Coast manage Harley Reid’s run into round one after an interrupted pre-season might just be the ultimate intersection of sports science and natural instinct.

Sense will say that Reid will continue his path towards the top echelon of the AFL after a stunning debut season. Sensibility says that Reid is underdone and the Eagles must tread carefully to protect their golden goose.

After remaining tight-lipped on the young star’s absence from training on Monday, the Eagles on Tuesday said that Reid was dealing with ankle soreness and was as a result on a modified program.

“Harley has had a really good training block post-Christmas, and had a little bit of ankle soreness last Friday,” high performance manager Matt Inness said. “With a long year ahead, we’re just looking after him this week, using it as a de-load week for him, and we expect him to be back training next week.”

It just had to be 🙌

Harley Reid has earned his first @NAB Goal of the Year nomination. pic.twitter.com/oaF1bWAxIw

— AFL (@AFL) May 23, 2024

It marks the latest interruption in a stop-start pre-season for the 19-year-old wunderkind.

In November, he missed West Coast’s 1-4 year pre-season training camp in Pinjarra after suffering a concussion. Later that month, he was placed on a modified training program after disrupting some scar tissue from an old lower-leg injury.

And now, Reid will likely continue to be managed in the lead-up to West Coast’s round one game against Gold Coast.

With two practice matches to come against Richmond and North Melbourne, it’s been suggested that Eagles fans brace for regression to the mean. If Reid could perform in the face of intense media scrutiny in his first season, taper expectations at your own risk.

What Reid achieved during his first season at West Coast will never be forgotten. He almost single-handedly led the club’s temporary revival.

Harley Reid with teammate Dom Sheed last year. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Reid has endured an interrupted second pre-season. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

It was always going to be hard to avoid a bottom-four finish and it cost Adam Simpson his job. But Reid’s arrival gave the club a much-needed dose of flair and arrogance. He revitalised weary veterans, became the face of West Coast’s next generation and gave fans a reason to come to the footy again.

If not for a poorly executed tackle on St Kilda’s Darcy Wilson, Reid would be an AFL Rising Star. Instead, he’ll have to settle for winning Goal of the Year and AFLCA Best First Year Player award.

Eliza Reilly’s thoughts on Harley Reid

Reid achieved that and more of a limited base. It’s no secret that the No.1 draft pick is still some way off reaching his athletic potential. He admitted in January last year that he wanted to focus on his professionalism.

So he got to work this off-season. Reid spent a month working with a personal trainer while he was back home in Victoria, focusing on his speed, power and agility. He was noticeably more toned when he returned to the club in January.

Reid with former skipper Luke Shuey last year. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

That work won’t be entirely undone by one minor setback. But the cumulative effect of missing several weeks of pre-season with three separate issues is Reid’s biggest concern.

Everyone knows an uninterrupted pre-season is the best recipe for a successful year.

Reid won’t have that luxury. But if he can squeeze everything out of the preparation he has been able to complete, Reid should be able to at least plateau in 2025 which is not at all a bad place to be.

The only notable sign of a potential Reid decline has been that he hasn’t been as prolific at pre-season training this year.

Last year in late January, Reid produced one of the most scintillating quarters of match simulation we’ve seen from an Eagles draftee.

West Coast brought former captain turned assistant coach Luke Shuey out of retirement to play on Reid in patches. In other parts, he lined up against two-time John Worsfold Medallist Elliot Yeo. He put both to the sword, bursting through congestion and laying fend-offs left, right and centre.

Reid is not regarded as a great trainer. Picture: Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The hype was real.

This summer, his ‘don’t argue’ has been defeated on numerous occasions. He hasn’t been as explosive during match simulation.

Some track watchers say that that was the case during Reid’s first pre-season – he wasn’t one of the club’s best trainers but he went about his business and did what was asked of him.

A fit and healthy Reid will do wonders for Andrew McQualter’s chances of success in his first year at the helm. But the Eagles are playing the long game.

West Coast would love nothing more than for Reid to sign a contract extension. That requires balancing what’s best for Reid with his needs and wants which would no doubt be to play and to play unrestricted.

Time will tell whether sense or sensibility wins out. But if Reid can find a way to perform after becoming the most hyped No.1 draft pick in the history of the AFL, there’s no reason why an interrupted pre-season will prove his downfall.

Originally published as Analysis: West Coast’s delicate balance with Harley Reid after interrupted pre-season