Round 4, Gather Round, saw West Coast put in its best performance for the season as Harley Reid stamped his potential on the big stage.
Did the two go hand in hand? Probably.
But the Eagles and commentators shouldn’t get ahead of themselves just yet, warns SEN WA host Mark Duffield.
While Saturday did mark West Coast’s fourth consecutive loss, Adam Simpson’s men were leading the Sydney Swans at half-time before slumping to a 26-point defeat.
Reid meanwhile shone with 18 disposals, seven tackles and three centre clearances. After being taken with pick no.1 in last year’s draft and crossing the country to play for West Coast, Reid kicked his first AFL goal and showed his passion for the club by tugging on his jumper.
But Duffield moved to offer a dose of reality.
“Harley Reid showed for longer than 20 minutes what a player he is going to be which was great to see,” he began on SEN WA Mornings.
“His ability to step out of tackles, he did that seven times… will get West Coast supporters going to games even if their team is struggling.
“(But) let’s not get ahead of ourselves on this. To give this some context and perspective, West Coast kicked 78 to 104. It represents a match percentage of 75 per cent.
“In 2001, the worst team Fremantle has ever put on the park finished the season with two wins and a percentage of 72 per cent.
“West Coast had to lift significantly to get as close to Sydney as they did off the way they’ve been performing. It is incumbent on them now to back this up, it cannot be a one-off.
“Reid was great… the Eagles were significantly better, but they have to be a lot better again before they are a credible AFL force again, so let’s not get in the habit of showering them with congratulations for not being blown off the park before half-time.”
In the aftermath, Reid was the major highlight for an Eagles side bereft of optimism. His seven broken tackles fell just short of the record of eight, held by Dustin Martin and Luke Davies-Uniacke.
Kane Cornes declared the following day: “He (Reid) is probably their best player already… I think there’s something really mature and special about him”.
While Duffield is too full of praise for Reid, he believes it’s disrespectful to the Eagles who are performing to put such hype on an 18-year-old.
“Harley Reid was great, but I did think it was a bit rich the way the commentators went on declaring him already West Coast’s best player,” Duffield continued.
“Jeremy McGovern had 26 disposals, gained well over 500 metres, lost a couple of teeth and still had nine intercept possessions.
“Elliot Yeo has been great all year, he had 28 disposals, laid eight tackles, gained well over 500 metres, six score involvements, 13 contested possessions, three intercept possessions with four centre clearances.
“Victorian commentators have an unfortunate habit of treating good young Victorians sent to WA as missionaries among savages.
“The Eagles still have a few handy champions still playing pretty good footy, whatever the woes of the team.”
Reid’s impressive performance was pipped for a Rising Star nomination by son-of-a-gun Bulldog Sam Darcy, who kicked three majors against Geelong.
2024 marks the first year West Coast hasn’t won one of its first four games since 1989. A clash with Richmond at Optus Stadium looms on Sunday.