AFL 2024: West Coast co-captain Oscar Allen confident Harley Reid will be at Eagles long-term and praises how he has handled pressure

Harley Reid was hounded with questions about whether he could handle a move away from Victoria before heading to West Coast. Now, his new captain his weighed in on the No. 1 pick’s transition to life in the west.

West Coast co-captain Oscar Allen says he has been impressed by how top pick Harley Reid has handled the intense pressure in his first pre-season and has full confidence the prodigious talent will be a long-term player at the Eagles.

Reid has dominated the headlines in Western Australia after plenty of hype surrounding him during his draft year, being touted as the No. 1 pick in the pool 18 months out from draft night.

West Coast picked the standout prospect of the 2023 draft despite speculation that the Tongala talisman was reluctant to move away from Victoria, which was rubbished by Reid himself.

It comes as Eagles champion Peter Sumich told this publication he walked away from his weekly newspaper column at the West Australian after they declined to publish an article criticising Reid.

Allen, who was named as co-captain along with Liam Duggan in November last year, rejected rival offers in 2021 by penning a three-year extension with the Eagles until the end of 2025.

The goalkicker described the club as a “home away from home” for Victorian players and said the ready-made prospect has settled in well.

Harley Reid with Nic Naitanui after being selected with the No. 1 pick. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“I think the environment we set at the football club, not many players end up requesting a trade out of West Coast. It’s like a home away from home for a lot of Victorian players and I think him being country Victoria, it’s probably something that family’s really important to him and seems a bit of a homebody,” Allen said.

“I think he’s really settled so far in Western Australia and he has only been here for the last two or three months and he’s still got another three years left to make a decision. Really confident he’ll be at the club for a long period of time.

“He is a pretty pragmatic kid, like he doesn’t let things get to his head and it’s probably got to do with the fact that the last 24 months he’s probably been in the headlines as well throughout his draft year, so it’s something that he has probably grown up with and become accustomed to. He probably doesn’t know any different – he probably thinks this is the normal way that things go when you get to off into the AFL so, at the moment is just settled in really well.

“Really proud of how he’s adapted as well moving over to WA, it’s a big move and he seems pretty settled here. I’ve been really impressed with him thus far.”

Reid had a modest first outing in West Coast’s practice match loss to Fremantle where he split his time between the midfield and defence but Allen said his versatility and competitive streak has stood out.

“I think the most exciting thing about Harley for me is how versatile is. He shows the ability to play in the midfield, he also played up forward as a junior and he can play down back as well so I think you won’t really know what position he’s gonna play until you rock up to the game, which is really exciting,” Allen said.

“And you see how competitive and tough years he is, that’s a really important key important key attribute in AFL football and proved to be able to bring that at 18 has been really impressive.”

Allen believes 2022 first-round selections Reuben Ginbey and Elijah and Noah Long are in for big second seasons at the Eagles after all three earned Rising Star nominations in 2023.

Reuben Ginbey has impressed Oscar Allen this pre-season. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

He also flagged 2023 mid-season draftee Ryan Maric as a player to watch after nine goals in 10 games last season and said a fit Elliot Yeo is capable of returning to his best in the engine room.

“I think that group Elijah Hewett, Reuben Ginbey, Noah Long all showed really impressive signs last year and heading into their second year is often the time in which players can really excel and develop their game and watching what they’ve been able to do this off-season has been super impressive.

“I think (Maric’s) off-season and pre-season has been really impressive and his versatility that allows him to play as a tall forward, as a small forward is really rare in the modern game. Someone that’s good overhead and below his knees and really excited to see how he can go this year.

“ (Yeo) has been outstanding, just the commitment he put in all throughout the off-season to allow him to have a pretty flawless pre-season has been exceptional. And back playing in the midfield, which I think when he was up and going four years ago he was one of the more dominant players in that position.”

Originally published as AFL 2024: West Coast co-captain Oscar Allen confident Harley Reid will be at Eagles long-term and praises how he has handled pressure