‘Pretty hard’: AFL young gun Harley Reid’s sad admission

Harley Reid has opened up on his rollercoaster debut season, revealing the “hard” part of being the most recognisable young player in the AFL.

Harley Reid has opened up on his whirlwind debut season of AFL football, revealing he found it “pretty hard” dealing with relentless pressure in the social media age.

Reid was the No. 1 pick in last year’s AFL Draft and there were high hopes he would have an immediate impact for the struggling West Coast Eagles.

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The 19-year-old played 20 games in his first season and impressed with countless trademark fend-offs, and his scintillating mid-year effort that saw him win Goal of the Year.

The first year superstar lit up Perth’s Optus Stadium against the Demons as he burst out of the middle, fending off two players before slotting a goal from just inside 50. Reid received $50,000 from NAB as part of the award for winning Goal of the Year.

As his profile soared, Reid was also featured on the back page of the West Australian newspaper virtually every day at one point of the year, such was the scrutiny on the young midfielder.

The teenager from country Victoria is contracted through to the end of 2027 but with West Coast finishing 17th, 18th and 16th in the past three seasons — there was talk the Eagles would need to improve and soon pay Reid a fortune to keep him in Perth.

Harley Reid said his debut season was “pretty hard” at times. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Adding to the rollercoaster year was the mid-season sacking of Eagles premiership coach Adam Simpson, who has been replaced by Andrew McQualter.

“It was pretty hard at times, I feel,” Reid said on Wednesday, speaking at an event as a Caulfield Cup Carnival racing ambassador.

“For me, I tried to do all I could with my footy and let my footy do the talking, but it’s pretty hard.

“Ninety-five per cent of it’s mental and I think if you can win the mental game and go out there feeling confident, the best part is, when you’re out there, you’ve got no worry in the world and you’re doing what you love, and you feel that why you’re here is what you’re doing right out there.

“That was kind of what I tried to have in my mind and go out there and have fun.”

Reid, who recently stepped out with his partner Yasmin Duursma at the Brownlow Medal, said intense social media scrutiny was part and parcel of being a high profile Gen Z athlete.

“I think, my generation, a lot of it’s social media and, these days, it’s all on social media,” he said.

“So, I think that was something that was very hard to control and came with a lot of pros and cons, I guess,” Reid said.

“For me, it was probably more just escaping from that world and staying in reality and staying in the moment.”

Harley Reid at the Caulfield Cup Carnival media launch.

Ben Cousins, Harley Reid, Bobby Cousins (Ben's son) and Nic Naitanui. Picture: Instagram

Simpson recently described Reid as a generational footballer and revealed players from rival clubs wanted to play with him.

“He’s generational,” Simpson told SEN last month.

“He’s just a hunter and he drags teammates with him … the fans and all that stuff, the No. 9 and the euphoria around that, that’s one thing, but the way he plays is infectious and you want to play with him,”

“We had several players, A-grade talent, ringing us … and the conversations were ‘I want to play with Harley’.

“Conversations like that were happening, but it did dry up a little bit (after some losses).”

Melbourne great Garry Lyon said Reid was well worth whatever price tag the Eagles pay for him.

“As a player he is worth this, as a marketing tool he is worth this, as a sponsorship tool he’s worth this and as a potential recruiter he’s worth that, you can’t put a price on that,” Lyon said on SEN.

Simpson was impressed by how Reid handled the pressure and backed him to stay at the Eagles long-term.

“One thing about Harley is his character,” Simpson said.

“In interviews with Harley we asked, ‘Why do you play the game?’ He was like ‘I play to win and I play for my mates’ — and they’re the two best things aren’t they?

Harley Reid and partner Yasmin Duursma at the Brownlow Medal. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

He won Goal of the Year. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

“That typifies his attitude towards the game, he keeps it very simple, very relaxed kid, he’ll learn to be a pro in the coming years.

“(He) had to deal with a lot this year, my son is the same age and he gets a pimple and he’s a bit worried, Harley is on the back page every day for 30 days in a row. So, dealing with expectations, he’s done that as an 18-year-old and he’s done it pretty well.

“He just wants to play footy with his mates and play to win. That should never leave him, that should be his No. 1 reason to play.”

“I think he’s loyal. Now that’s not putting any pressure on the kid because he’s going to get a lot of opportunities (from rivals), but he’s pretty loyal.”

Originally published as ‘Pretty hard’: AFL young gun Harley Reid’s sad admission