Mitchell Woodcock: Harley Reid’s growth in maturity on show in classy response to tough Sydney outing

Harley Reid’s biggest growth hasn’t come from his fitness, biceps, or even the mullet that is starting to develop. It’s the maturity the young man is showing as he shoulders a lot of responsibility in the Eagles’ rebuild. Reid found himself at the centre of plenty of attention during the week after he was well-beaten by Sydney tagger James Jordon. The 20-year-old’s performance and attitude was firmly in the spotlight, with every man and his dog having his say on what he did wrong. Reid could well have started the game against Geelong like he finished the one against the Swans — frustrated and overwhelmed. Instead, he came out with a calm head and executed his role against a powerful Geelong outfit. The signs were there early when Reid got his hands on the footy on the wing and exploded towards goal. He took a bounce and looked for all money like he was going to blaze away for a shot on goal. Instead, Reid unselfishly lowered his eyes to find forward Jake Waterman, who could have a regulation set shot. It wasn’t a one-off either. Up against it after half-time, Reid found himself with the ball near the top of the 50m arc. The old Reid would’ve taken the game on and had a wild shot at goal to try to stamp his authority. This new, mature version of Reid looked lateral, found his teammate Jack Graham in a better position, and his handball resulted in an important major. Reid even threw himself at a full-length smother just to stop a kick from half-back Tom Atkins. It wasn’t a perfect performance. There was the untidy 50m penalty given away in the third term that led to a Sam de Koning goal. And there was some ill-discipline that clearly irked coach Andrew McQualter enough to call it out in a press conference. The next step is cutting those frees out of his game. But Reid is yet to turn 21 — he cannot even legally drink in America. And like this team, the response to the disastrous loss to Sydney last week was always going to be more defining for this group than the defeat itself. This is the new Reid that McQualter and his teammates have been talking about. It’s the Reid that is becoming a leader for the likes of Willem Duursma, Cooper Duff-Tytler, and Josh Lindsay. Let’s hope the commentary around the young man this week acknowledges the growth and steps he’s taken to become a more rounded player. Rightly or wrongly, a lot is expected of Reid so early in his career, and this performance is one that should be given a tick.