Eagles vow to protect Harley Reid from fiery reprisals
Harley Reid has been praised for the physical mongrel he brings to the game, and West Coast players are vowing to do their best to protect him from fiery reprisals.
Reid was enemy No.1 during Saturday night’s spiteful western derby, with the 19-year-old booed by the pro-Dockers crowd every time he got the ball.
The heckling got louder and louder as the game wore on, with Reid’s physical battles against Fremantle’s biggest stars not going unnoticed.
Dockers players made a point to physically target Reid throughout the night, giving him extra shoves every time the top draft pick was tackled to ground.
Reid’s battle with star Freo midfielder Andrew Brayshaw got particularly feisty, and a big melee erupted when Reid brought down forward Sam Switkowski off the ball in the third quarter.
Eagles veteran Elliot Yeo escorted Reid away from the big melee when it erupted.
A total of 14 West Coast and Fremantle players copped fines over the melees, while Dockers veteran Nat Fyfe and Eagles duo Jack Petruccelle and Jack Hutchinson copped one-match bans for other incidents.
Reid finished with 29 disposals and 10 clearances in a standout display, and the way he stood up to Fremantle was a big reason behind West Coast holding a lead until early into the third quarter.
Eagles youngster Reuben Ginbey, who has been thriving in his recent switch to half-back, praised Reid’s physicality.
“We love it. That’s just in his nature, he’ll always step in,” Ginbey told reporters on Monday.
“As his mates and his teammates, it’s our job to protect him after that.
“So if there’s fights to get in – or not so much fights but ways to protect him – then we’ll do that.
“Yeo was great in holding him back a few times and showing that leadership.”
Ginbey was proud of West Coast’s brave display against Fremantle, but he is desperate for the team to taste victory after nine consecutive losses.
“The first half when we were leading (against Fremantle), it was very promising,” Ginbey said.
“We really established our brand – contest footy, high pressure, deep entries to our forwards.
“There were a lot of positives. But we’re not here for honourable losses.”
The Eagles are hopeful of regaining star defender Jeremy McGovern (rib/lung) for Friday night’s clash with Gold Coast at Optus Stadium.
Young midfielder Zane Trew is in doubt with the neck injury he suffered in the opening seconds against the Dockers.
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