St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt tips West Coast Eagles draftee Willem Duursma for AFL stardom

West Coast’s top 2025 draft pick, Willem Duursma, has already been earmarked as a future star of the competition after an eye-catching performance in the Eagles’ win over North Melbourne.

The young gun kicked two raking goals and collected 15 touches to go with a clearance in just his second match of AFL football as the rebuilding Eagles finally showed a touch of promise.

He wasn’t the only young gun to star with fellow 2025 top-five selection Cooper Duff-Tytler showing off his remarkable ability and skill with two goals of his own, while Jobe Shanahan earned round two’s rising star nomination.

However, it was Duursma, who came up against brother Zane for the first time, that earned the plaudits from St Kilda legend Nick Riewoldt for playing the role of Harley Reid’s wingman.

“All of a sudden, it’s amazing, how good the future can look. On the back of a wingman for Reid, who we all know is a star,” he told Channel 7’s Agenda Setters.

“You only need to see a couple of things from a player like that to think, oh, he’s going to be a star.”

Reid himself produced a career-high 30 disposals and could have had two goals if not for score reviews.

Duursma is the youngest of three brothers who all play AFL footy, while his sister Yasmin, who previously dated Reid, is also in the AFLW.

The youngsters were not the only ones to earn praise from the Agenda Setter’s panel, Kane Cornes highlighting the club’s leaders and veterans.

“Once again, you look at the senior players. (Liam) Baker was huge. We see what (Jamie) Cripps did, kicking three goals – tough. You need that experience like (Deven) Robinson coming in from Brisbane – it was the best game I’ve seen him play. (Jack) Graham was good,” he said.

Premiership player Elliot Yeo was also strong with two majors from 19 touches in his second outing back from a plague of long-term injuries, while Tim Kelly showed the spark of old, having been recalled after missing the trip to Gold Coast in round one.