Sponsor buys back page of newspaper in support of AFL No. 1 pick Harley Reid

Harley Reid has been arguably the most hyped No. 1 draft pick ever – and his major sponsor has made a unique act of support ahead of his debut.

Puma has bought the back page of the West Australian in a unique act of support to Harley Reid.

West Coast’s Harley Reid has been arguably the most hyped No. 1 draft pick we’ve seen – certainly out west – constantly at the centre of the intense media spotlight.

And in a unique act of support from Reid’s major sponsor Puma, the sportswear giant has blacked out the back page of the West Australian on Sunday – the day he’ll make his AFL debut against Port Adelaide – and left a simple message to the star draftee.

Instead of the usual coverage, The West Australian back page will be blacked out with the writing: “A back page without the pressure... Good luck mate,” along with Puma’s logo.

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Puma has bought the back page of the West Australian in a unique act of support to Harley Reid.

West Australian sports editor Jakeb Waddell shared the back page on X.

“The back page of tomorrow’s The Sunday Times — completely taken over by Harley Reid’s main sponsor, Puma, on the day of his debut,” Waddell wrote.

It marks the first time Puma has bought the back page of a newspaper for an AFL player in a creative bid aimed to take some pressure off Reid amid enormous ongoing focus.

The Eagles young gun has dominated headlines and been stamped across the back page of WA newspapers The West Australian and Sunday Times on over 30 occasions across the summer.

And so there’s great anticipation towards his first AFL game when West Coast, hoping to bounce back from a three-win 2023 season where it claimed the wooden spoon, faces the Power on Sunday at Adelaide Oval.

Reid became the first 18-year old AFL player to sign a five-year deal with Puma as well as the first to sign a deal with the company prior to being drafted.

“The footy world is fascinated with Harley – not as much as the Western Australian newspapers are,” Demons legend Garry Lyon told Fox Footy’s On The Couch earlier this month.

“‘Bucks’ (Nathan Buckley) and ‘Browny’ (Jonathan Brown), you both came into the game with a lot of hype around you ... it pales into what this bloke has been confronted with at the moment.

“I’ve spoken to people in Western Australia and people who have walked through airports with him and see him get mobbed – it’s at another level.”

Originally published as Sponsor buys back page of newspaper in support of AFL No. 1 pick Harley Reid