Kane Cornes can’t believe the amount of attention No. 1 draft pick Harley Reid is receiving over in Perth.
While Reid has impressed from all reports in his first pre-season with West Coast, he’s still yet to play an AFL game and Cornes is shocked by the media coverage that the youngster is constantly receiving.
Cornes looked at The West Australian newspaper across the last week where Reid was featured in full back page spreads on both Wednesday and Monday. The youngster also was the main item on the back page on both January 25 and 26.
The West back page - Monday, February 5
The West back page - Wednesday, January 31
The West back page - Friday, January 26
The West back page - Thursday, January 25
As a result, Cornes wondered whether Reid was quickly becoming the most hyped number-one draft pick ever and questioned whether the Perth media was setting expectations too high for the Bendigo Pioneers product.
“Last week again, The West Australian put out a back pager of Harley Reid which said, ‘Golden Boy’,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.
“It had him in a gold set as if he was a Logie. I just can't believe it.
“Pound for pound has there been a player that has been more hyped than this?
“He would have had probably 20 front or back pages already and he was drafted late last year and hasn't played a game yet.
“I mean, are they setting him up (to fail)? He's the golden boy, that’s the headline.
“All it was one of his teammates heaping praise on him.
“Question without notice, is he the most hyped number one draft pick ever? He’d have to be.
“Imagine if in three years he wants out.”
After Reid featured on Monday’s back page alongside Ben Cousins, Cornes was shocked to learn that the youngster made an appearance again on Tuesday, this time simply for having a light training session.
The West back page - Tuesday, February 6
He discussed the continuing media coverage with co-host Sam Edmund and described the Reid obsession as a bit extreme.
Cornes: “There’s another Harley Reid update.
“We've been fascinated by the amount of front and back pages he's got he was on the back page again yesterday with Ben Cousins.
“I thought, ‘They couldn't go again, they could not put him on the back page again today’. So, I checked in on The West Australian and you wouldn’t believe it, he’s on the back page again.”
Edmund: “It's a little blurb.
“It's not a full back page. The main presence on the back page is the latest injuries at West Coast.
“It's ‘Winged Eagles’ and we've got a couple of band-aids there and we've got the Eagles logo with a bandage on it.
“But then off to the side on the right-hand side they have, ‘Harley Lifted A Finger’, you turn to page 50 there's an action of him training there.
“I think there's a rule at The West Aus, you’ve got to have a Harley presence either on the front or back page of some kind.”
Cornes: “The hype is just like nothing I've ever seen. Where does it end?
“He got on the back page because he had a light session yesterday. He was a bit sore, so he didn't do the full complement of training and that made the back page.
“I hope they don't drive him out of the place because it's getting a bit extreme.”
Reid will hope to make his AFL debut when the Eagles face the Power in a Round 1 clash at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday, March 17.
