To much info...bordering on cringe!Harley Reid: 101 things you need to know about West Coast Eagles’ prospective No. 1 AFL draft selection
We’re down to a matter of days & hours before Harley Reid goes from super-hyped draft prospect to West Coast’s No.1 pick. Here’s everything you need to know about the young star before his name gets called out.
1. Reid is from the tiny country town of Tongala in Victoria, with a population of fewer than 2000
2. He is 18 years old
3. He is 187cm tall
4. He is a midfielder, but is also a serious weapon in the forward line
5. He is the most-hyped prospective No.1 pick the league has ever seen
6. He has long been compared to Richmond superstar Dustin Martin
7. He was first touted as the best player in his draft group midway through 2022
8. He starred for Vic Country at the under-19 national championships
9. His Coates Talent League team is the Bendigo Pioneers, just over an hour from Tongala
10. He has played VFL games for both Carlton and Essendon’s reserves teams
11. He has played for six different teams during his draft year
12. He is a right-footer
13. He was named an All-Australian at both of his two under-19 national championships
14. Reid will be the No.1 pick in next week’s draft
15. The first pick is currently held by West Coast, who say they would need a mind-blowing offer to trade the selection
16. North Melbourne are the front-runner to settle a trade with West Coast — if they decide to do a deal
17. Reid has strongly denied claims he does not want to move to Western Australia
18. If he lands at the Eagles, Reid wants to take the No.9 jumper — previously worn by Ben Cousins and Nic Naitanui
19. He wore the No.5 jumper for Vic Country
20. He has become known for his powerful fend-offs
21. His fame grew largely through Instagram and TikTok
22. Reid has more than 37,000 followers on his private Instagram account
23. He was first asked for photos and autographs playing for Bendigo at the start of the season
24. His manager is Nick Gieschen from Connors Sports
25. He last month graduated from St Joseph’s College
26. He is sponsored by Puma
27. Reid already has a number of friends in the league, including Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Cooper Harvey
28. He has kept in touch with Western Bulldogs forward Ugle-Hagan about handling the pressure of being the No.1 pick
29. He was presented his Victorian under-12s jumper by Christian Petracca, who he is still in touch with
30. He is a Geelong supporter
31. Reid believes living outside the city has helped him handle the hysteria
32. Reid used to follow his father to Tongala training as a small boy
33. His father, Mark, played 401 games for the club
34. Mark featured on the famous Footy Show segment ‘Almost Footy Legends’ for his high-flying marks
35. He has two sisters, Hollie and Jasmin
36. Both sisters play A-grade netball for Tongala
37. He was named best-on-ground in his first-ever under-12s match, then filled in for the under-14s on the same day
38. Tongala has been affectionately dubbed ‘Reidsville’ by locals, because of the family’s sporting dominance
39. His mother, Vanessa, had concerns over Harley playing against older boys
40. As a junior, Reid played in a helmet
41. Harley wore long sleeves in his first season for Bendigo
42. He has played in Perth once this season, for Vic Country in a win at the WACA Ground over Western Australia
43. He was best-on-ground in the game, kicking two goals from 26 disposals
44. He toured West Coast’s facilities as part of the Vic Country trip
45. He played at the Bendigo Pioneers with second-year Eagles forward Noah Long
46. Even in a flat-out 2023, Reid ran water for Tongala’s senior team
47. Reid once sparked controversy by ‘liking’ an Instagram post about West Coast coach Adam Simpson...
48. ... but he has since conceded he is just generous with his ‘likes’
49. Since the end of 2021, he has incorporated jiu-jitsu practice into his training
50. After one session, Reid’s uncle ended up in hospital with an eye injury
51. Harley filled in as the runner for Bendigo’s under-15s team even after his season was finished
52. He kicked almost 130 goals in a season at under-14s level for Tongala
53. Reid last year won the Jack Collins - Alan Schwab AFL Life Members Scholarship
54. Previous recipients of the assistance package include Naitanui, Luke Hodge, Joel Selwood and Sam Walsh
55. Harley’s great-grandfather trained with Fitzroy, but declined to play to enlist in the army instead
56. His grandmother is Albanian
57. Harley will become the 25th V/AFL/W player with the last name Reid
58. The only other Reid to play for West Coast is Nic, who played three games for the Eagles in 2020
59. Reid will become just the second AFL to be drafted from Tongala, after Bradley Campbell
60. Campbell was a father-son product and played just one game for Melbourne in 1994
61. Reid suffered a minor knee injury late this season playing for Bendigo
62. He played two games for Carlton in the VFL, racking up 21 disposals in a clash with Brisbane in round two
63. He revealed former Brisbane player Rhys Mathieson “got into” him during that match
64. Reid first started kicking a football as a three-year-old
65. He wears a headband
66. Reid has revealed he laughs at internet memes with his face pasted over AFL team’s jumpers
67. His favourite song is Travellin’ Soldier
68. He is a fussy eater
69. Reid’s Instagram display picture is the Pink Panther cartoon character
70. Reid trained with Carlton last year, posting a picture alongside Brownlow medallist and Blues captain Patrick Cripps
71. He is set to become the first No.1 draft selection at West Coast since Michael Gardiner
72. Reid would become the Eagles’ first non-West Australian pick 1
73. His father Mark’s nickname is ‘Rowdy’ — because he is anything but that
74. Reid found himself in a bizarre internet feud with journalist Sam McClure over claims he wasn’t happy to move west
75. The pair made up and even posed for a photo together earlier this year
76. Reid took a specky during his one VFL appearance for Essendon, rising high over a Southport opponent on the wing
77. If he debuts for West Coast in round one, it would come at the Adelaide Oval against Port Adelaide
78. He is close friends with fellow top-10 prospect Nick Watson
79. On social media, Reid already follows potential teammates Oscar Allen, Alex Witherden, Tom Cole, Campbell Chesser, Tyrell Dewar, Coby Burgiel and former teammate Long
80. He would straight away become one of the most-followed Eagles on social media
81. While they were battling for the wooden spoon, a clash between the Eagles and Hawthorn was dubbed ‘the Harley Reid Cup’
82. Eagles legend Cousins said he had been “really impressed” by Reid and hoped he took the No.9 jumper
83. Commentator Kane Cornes earlier this year labelled the Eagles a bad landing spot for Reid and said “if I am Harley Reid... I would not want to be going there”
84. The risk of Reid returning to Victoria has been one of the major talking points around West Coast’s handling of the first pick
85. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, Reid’s initial contract will tie him to his first club for three years
86. When Reid played one game for Tongala this season, the Blues snapped an eight-game losing streak
87. He had more than 150 teammates this season alone
Harley Reid poses for a selfie with Zippy Fish.
88. Reid revealed seeing media waiting for him at Perth Airport earlier this year was a moment he released things were getting serious
89. He would become the first-ever Harley to play for the Eagles
90. After playing in Perth earlier this year, Reid posed for a selfie with AFLW draft prospect Zippy Fish
91. After that match, direct opponent and fellow prospect Clay Hall said Reid’s “power” separated him from the rest of the draft class
92. He took to social media that week, posting a selfie at Cottesloe Beach, captioned “serenity”
93. Eagles Ryan Maric and Reuben Ginbey went to the WACA to watch him play
94. His favourite colour is pink
95. He would become the 14th Victorian on West Coast’s list
96. Reid would work closely under West Coast great and former captain Luke Shuey — also a Victorian — in his new role as stoppage coach
97. His weight is listed as 85kg
98. His birthday is the 17th of April
99. He was the co-captain of Vic Country alongside Harry DeMattia
100. Melbourne star Christian Petracca told Reid he will win a Brownlow
101. He’d look good in blue and gold
(I may have switched some images/removed some but it's otherwise the full article).
