West Coast co-captain Liam Duggan is “really confident” the future of stars Harley Reid and Oscar Allen resides at the Eagles.
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Reid has drawn speculation of a return to Victoria from the moment he was drafted, while Allen is in the final year of his contract.
Reid is expected to field offers, most of which will come from Victorian clubs, as large as $2m per year.
But Duggan says Reid “loves it” at West Coast and is confident the No.1 draft pick will stay.
“I am confident, I know he (Reid) loves it, he’s a great teammate, I am really confident he will stay,” Duggan said.
“It’s a tough situation for him to be in, you wouldn’t blame him for being a little bit confused if he is, but he handles it all beautifully, so I am confident he will stay.”
Reid caught attention both on and off the field in his debut AFL season, regularly getting tagged after his early performances as well as continuous media attention.
Duggan is happy with how Reid is adjusting to his AFL norm and excited by his insatiable desire to improve.
“It’s hard to adapt in your first year to adapt to that sort of attention, it’s not just footy for Harley, it’s all of it and he’s done well,” Duggan said.
“He’s had bits and pieces of the pre-season, he’s had to sit out a bit, but he played about 60 minutes of our intra club and was super impressive.
“A lot of the stuff we’ve seen in his first season and his junior days, he brought that back out.
“He’s just keen to learn more, he’s really eager to become a better player than he was yesterday and that’s a bit of a scary proposition when you think about it.”
Allen, meanwhile, is entering a free agency year and was reported to have been contacted by Brisbane as a Joe Daniher replacement.
Duggan says he is in the ear of his co-captain and expects him to re-sign soon.
“I have got the pressure on him, again, I am really confident that will get sorted out quickly,” he said.
“He’s a great mate of mine, a great leader of the footy club, he loves the joint, he’s the first in and last out.
“(I am) really confident that will sort itself out over the next couple of months.”
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