The battle for Harley Reid begins this weekend, which club will win The Amazing Race for his services?
Wooden spoons are never fun to win. But if you were going to pick a year to finish last, this might just be it. That’s because the reward is a ‘bloody superstar’ named Harley Reid.
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We’ve heard it before, that a looming draft kid could be a generational player.
Maybe another Judd. Or Gaz Jnr, Selwood or Dusty.
Harley Reid, from the Goulburn Valley dairy-farming town of Tongala, which is famous for not much these days, could be that very special talent.
He’ll go No.1 in this year’s AFL national draft, bet your last dollar.
“He’s a bloody superstar, so much like Dustin Martin it’s unbelievable,’’ one recruiter said this week.
On the eve of the 2022 draft last November, another recruiter told colleague Chris Cavanagh: “I’d pick him at No.1 in this year’s draft if he was available … there’s not much he can’t do.”
If Harley Reid was a reality TV show, it would be called The Amazing Race. And the prize? The Tongala Cup.
Tanking is a dirty word in football, but let’s not kid ourselves, because it’s uncanny how many players from the bottom-ranked teams are put out for surgery in the second half of the season.
Clubs call it player management, and giving opportunities to their kids. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
This season, there will be roughly 20 episodes of The Amazing Race.
Episode one is on Saturday with North Melbourne and West Coast at Marvel Stadium.
While episode two is this Sunday when Hawthorn plays Essendon.
The loser of that game will get an early-season hint about where it stands.
Both teams are young and rebuilding – just ask the coaches Sam Mitchell and Brad Scott who both have long-term deals – and need fresh young talent on their lists.
Both those teams, North Melbourne and West Coast, and maybe injury-ravaged St Kilda, will assess themselves as the season plays out.
A winning culture is a good culture, but rebuilds require elite talent and eking out a finish between, say 10th and 15th, can be construed as no-man’s land, especially if it happens year on year.
Top draftees can be a lottery, but the good judges say Harley Reid clearly is the golden ticket to the chocolate factory.
The Bombers, for example, play the Hawks, Suns and the Saints in the first three rounds. Three losses and finals are kaput.
Scott, in the first year of a four-year-deal, would be disappointed if they lost all three, but probably not devastated.
He’s building for a tilt in 2025 and 2026. He has time. He needs quality. He knows about Harley Reid.
In rounds 21, 22 and 23, the Bombers play West Coast, North Melbourne and the Giants. If the Bombers, for instance, were 17th or 18th on the ladder at round 20, would they really want to win their next three matches?
We’re not accusing Essendon, or any team, of potentially tanking, especially not ahead of the first game of the season. But as the year unfolds, list management wears different hats.
North is already playing kids, West Coast needs multiple draft bonanzas and so does St Kilda and the Hawks.
If the hat fits …
So, how good is the kid?
A midfield-forward, Reid’s season has already been mapped out. He will play at least eight of 13 home-and-away games for the Bendigo Pioneers in the Coates Talent League, obviously the championships, and also play VFL for Essendon and Carlton.
No one will say it publicly, but his development will not be further enhanced by dominating against other 18-year-olds, so the VFL excursions are considered the logical pathway.
Bluntly, the kid’s wasting his time playing under-age footy.
Pioneers coach Danny O’Bree understands the hype, but tries not to add to it.
“The hype has been real pretty much when he came into the team,’’ he said.
“He had a massive impact in his first game, he kicked three goals, a couple outside 50m, so it’s absolutely real.
“He does things that simply other kids maybe can’t or maybe aren’t doing at the moment. He’s quite a mature player.’’
See the similarity to Martin? O’Bree wouldn’t bite.
Instead, O’Bree gave a snapshot of Reid:
Fitness: “Room for improvement, but he’s working on that continuously.’’
Speed: “Quite good. He tested 3.006 seconds for 20m at the weekend.’
Game awareness: ‘’Extremely good.’’
Left foot, right foot: “Very good but still room for improvement. Decision-making is very good.’’
Marking: “A strength.’’
Aggression: ‘’A strength area.’’
Attitude: “Exceptional.’’
Leadership: ‘’Quite good for a 17-year-old. He’s a very-smart kid. He knows he’s good, but he’s not ahead of himself.’’
Off-field: “Great character. He can talk to a 75-year-old guy and can talk to a five-year-old kid. Just an exceptional character.’’
Position: “Mid-forward.’’
So, he sounds like Richmond’s No.4?
“Correct,’’ O’Bree said.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t give him No. 4, so we had to give him the No. 5, sort of like a Gary Ablett.’’
O’Bree laughed after that last comment.
The hype got to him.
How many clubs will be seduced by it as well?
Originally published as The battle for Harley Reid begins this weekend, which club will win The Amazing Race for his services?
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