West Coast young gun Harley Reid has come under fire from AFL greats Leigh Matthews and Tim Watson, who say the 20-year-old’s aggressive antics are doing more harm than good, both to his game and his struggling team.
Reid copped a $6250 fine for tripping Port Adelaide’s Travis Boak in Sunday’s loss, his thirteenth fine in just 37 games.
The sanction took his total financial penalties to $26,250, with $15,000 of those coming in 2025 alone. He also gave away six free kicks in the game, more than any other player in the AFL this year.
MORE: Essendon stars’ move that ‘raised eyebrows’
Speaking on On The Couch, Matthews didn’t hold back in his assessment.
'A waste of time and energy'
“He’s only in his second year, but his false bravado aggression, to me, is ugly – and it’s really costly, both to him and the Eagles, because he gives away a lot of free kicks,” the eight-time premiership icon said.
“I’m not sure what he thinks he’s doing. Uncontrolled aggression is really bad.
“He should watch Cam Rayner, who’s a big, strong man, aggression at the ball, at the tackle, or to break tackles. That’s it in modern footy. Anything other than that is just false bravado and a waste of time.”
MORE: Nick Daicos being hunted by Tasmania Devils
Watson, speaking on SEN Breakfast, called Reid’s behaviour “childish” and questioned whether West Coast’s leadership feared confronting the young midfielder.
“It’s time to deliver some hard truths to Harley Reid… His behaviours are childish, and they’re unprofessional, and they’re undisciplined,” Watson said.
“It appears like there’s been this soft touch that’s been applied to him. I just don’t think that you can tolerate the way that he behaves on the footy field any longer.”