Reid was booed every time he touched the ball in West Coast’s 35-point loss to Fremantle.
Fremantle’s 35-point victory against West Coast on Saturday night was immensely willing, much like the old-fashioned AFL derbies. And from the first bounce onward, Fremantle players and supporters fiercely targeted Harley Reid, the Eagles’ highly sought-after number one draft pick. Reid was targeted each time he touched the ball.
Similar to West Coast’s unexpected 37-point victory over Fremantle earlier in the season, Reid provided the Eagles’ spark when the wooden spooners from the previous year threatened to cause another derby boilover. Late in the second term, Fremantle was behind a Reid-led West Coast team by 19 points. However, they responded with eight straight goals to win 17.8 (110) to 11.9 (75).
But the major talking point out of the match was the treatment of Reid as the star midfielder was relentlessly booed by rival fans, much to the dismay of the majority of the AFL world. The 19-year-old tallied a career-high 29 disposals and 10 clearances for the match, but it was his running battles with Fremantle’s biggest stars that proved to be the most memorable part of a spiteful derby.
Reid and Fremantle’s star-studded midfield came to blows on multiple occasions, with Andrew Brayshaw particularly frustrated by Reid’s physicality, as the Dockers vice-captain at one point bowled the Eagle over with a brutal hit from behind.
On the rare occasions when Fremantle players were able to get Reid to ground, they also made sure to dish out extra verbal barbs and physical punishment. But despite this Reid didn’t take a backward step, unmoved by being mocked and booed by the pro-Dockers crowd.
And with Andrew Gaff’s AFL career almost over, the most hated Eagle among Fremantle fans has now officially been passed onto Reid at little fault of his own. The young Eagle was dogged in his approach to the contest despite being manhandled and jeered at throughout the entire contest. And the AFL world took exception to the hate directed at the young Eagle, many taking to social media to call out the unacceptable boos and verbal tirades launched from the purple in the crowd.
