Former Collingwood midfielder Brodie Holland can’t believe how quickly No. 1 pick Harley Reid has adapted to life at AFL level.
The young Eagle has starred in his last two games, helping himself to 27 disposals, seven clearances and a goal against Richmond before turning it on in the Derby against Fremantle with three goals, 19 disposals and another seven clearances.
Reid’s emergence has coincided with West Coast’s improvement as the side now sit 2-4 in 2024. In 2022 and 2023 they won two and three games in each season respectively.
Holland described Reid as a weapon and even compared him to West Coast great Chris Judd who also starred as a youngster and even won a Brownlow in his third AFL season.
The thing is, Holland sees Reid as even better than Judd at this stage, describing him as like the all-time great but “on steroids”.
“Harley Reid, what a weapon he is,” Holland said on SEN WA The Run Home.
“I mean, I know there's a lot of talk around town about what he can do and what he's going to do.
“But man, I have never seen anything like some of the stuff that he can do for an 18-year-old.
“He’s kind of like Chris Judd on steroids, isn't he? He's just unbelievable.
“What he can do on the inside and the outside and he can jump and take a mark.”
Holland was also asked about what advice he’d give to Reid given he also started his career in Perth with Fremantle in 1998.
The now 44-year-old told the youngster to ignore the outside noise and stay focused on what he does best.
“Oh, (my advice would be) don’t do what I did and just piss up your first three years up the wall,” Holland said.
“But I think these boys (like Reid and Nick Daicos) have got the right head on their shoulders.
“I think they'll work it out for themselves. They guys, they seem fairly astute.
“I just say always stay level-headed, stay focused and don't let any outside noise or anyone make you think you're better than what you are.”
Reid has been rested for West Coast’s Round 7 clash against Gold Coast at People First Stadium on Sunday.
