GWS captain Toby Greene believes there are “a few similarities” between a younger version of himself and West Coast’s Harley Reid amid criticism of the Eagles prodigy’s recent off-the-ball antics.
Reid was sanctioned for misconduct after giving the middle finger to the Lions crowd in Brisbane in Round 2 before engaging in a tussle with Fremantle’s Caleb Serong during last Sunday’s Western Derby.
On Monday night, AFL legend Leigh Matthews pondered whether the lofty expectations placed on Reid after his stellar rookie season have stunted him to begin in year two.
“Sometimes I wonder (about) if you play too well too early if it’s not great for your long term. Because all of a sudden, he’s in a bad spot. He looks like he’s playing a bit angry and over-aggressive,” the four-time premiership coach told Fox Footy’s On the Couch.
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Giants skipper Greene, who is no stranger to an indiscretion or plenty, said Reid might take a bit longer to reach his final form than some might demand.
“He’ll be fine. There probably are a few similarities (between us) — sometimes get overheated and make rash decisions. It’s something certainly I’ve been guilty of in my career,” Greene began on AFL 360 as the Giants prepare to host Reid’s Eagles this Sunday.
“He’s probably not like your Nick Daicos, who comes in super fit, ready to play AFL footy. While he does some amazing things in spurts, he’s still finding probably the speed of the game and getting his head around that and getting super AFL-fit, which he’s probably not quite yet.
“He’ll be fine, he’ll probably just take a little bit more time than your freaks like Nick Daicos, who come in and impact straight away. He’s probably a little bit different to that and he’s just going to take some time.
“I’m sure West Coast have a lot of good people around him, he’ll … find his feet sooner rather than later.”
The 31-year-old Greene couldn’t help but sympathise with the incredible attention Reid attracts.
“I don’t think many players in the competition would’ve had the scrutiny that he’s had in his first two years in footy,” Greene said.
“Being in Perth, I can’t imagine some of the attention he gets away from the footy club, but it’s something he’s probably going to have to deal with his whole career.
“He’ll be working on that and being well aware, and then gameday will be his time to shine, and as I said he’ll be fine.
“Looking forward to watching him, he’s very watchable, so it’s good for the game. His next 10, 15 years will be very interesting.”
Co-host Garry Lyon endorsed a temporary role tweak for the explosive onballer.
“I’m all for throwing him to half-back,” he said. “I want Harley Reid to go and play half-back for six weeks.
“Take some of the pressure of trying to be a midfield accumulator … he doesn’t look as fit as perhaps he might be.
“Settle him down … I just think six weeks at half-back where he takes a player and gets himself into the game wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
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