“Treated like all the others”: Eagles skipper insists no preferential treatment for No.1 draft pick
West Coast co-captain Oscar Allen insists prized draft pick Harley Reid is simply being treated as one of the others.
There is a remarkable amount of hype surrounding the No.1 draft pick who has been a source of fascination in recent months, particularly for media in Perth.
Internally, however, Allen has made it clear that although Reid is a sublime talent, there has been no preferential treatment from within.
“He’s big news in Perth at the moment,” Allen told SEN.com.au.
“But internally it’s been the exact same (the way he’s been treated). He’s just another young man. We got a few players in the draft last year so he’s just treated like all the others.
“He’s really impacted the club in a positive way since he’s got here. He just wants to play consistent footy and he’s settled in really well.”
So, actually how good is Reid?
Allen’s face beamed when was asked, but he did concede that as an inexperienced teenager he still has plenty of elements and aspects of his game to work on.
“He’s a really good player,” Allen added.
“He’s got good scope to be a really good AFL player for a long period of time.
“At the end of the day, he’s still only 18 years old so he’s still got some kinks to sort out.”
Allen won’t play in Saturday’s AAMI Community Series clash with Adelaide at Richmond Oval due to knee soreness.
However, his young gun teammate Reid will be in action against the Crows as the Eagles continue to tune up for the 2024 season proper.
The match kicks off at 2:10pm AEDT.
