Is it fair that West Coast Eagles prospect Harley Reid is receiving so much attention?
Is it fair that West Coast Eagles prospect Harley Reid is receiving so much attention?You may not be aware, but the West Coast Eagles selected a teenager who is widely regarded as the best young player in the game with the first pick of the AFL’s National Draft.
Observers were predicting him to be a top selection even a year and a half before he could be selected.
He was so well-liked that, prior to the draft, a story promoting “101 things you need to know” about him appeared on the back page of the Perth daily.
All in good humor, I believe.
However, as of Thursday, his name or image had appeared 25 times on the back page without appearing in any of the games.
With “Harleywood,” “Harley-lujah,” and “must-Reid” already, there’s a very real risk that the pun well will run dry before a ball is bounced.
By all accounts, Harley Reid is a remarkable young man.
However, this much exposure to the public at the age of eighteen, before he has ever played a game, can’t be good for his health?
And how will arriving in Perth, a city that is fixated on football and has one newspaper with laser beams focused on just two AFL teams, affect his perspective on life in Western Australia?
Yes, your correspondent is well aware of the importance of following up on inquiries regarding a player’s exposure to additional media attention, but the questions still stand.
Designed to last
The young men who put themselves forward for the AFL draft are known to be tough and to be prepared for the kind of scrutiny that comes with being a top player.
They are unique kinds, scrutinized by supporters of the teams that wish to select them for their vertical leaps and beep test scores.
That’s the professional sports industry: a competitive entertainment sector vying for your attention and dollars.
And how will arriving in Perth, a city that is fixated on football and has one newspaper with laser beams focused on just two AFL teams, affect his perspective on life in Western Australia?
Yes, your correspondent is aware of the importance of following up on inquiries regarding the volume of media coverage a player receives.
And hope is the one thing that keeps that business going strong. A football fan’s hope is their caffeine.
After two terrible seasons, the Eagles made a gamble on hope by drafting Reid.
A few onlookers believed they ought to have “split the pick,” choosing two less good but still very good choices.
However, the Eagles think Reid’s hype is genuine and that he will help them advance.
Yes, your correspondent is aware of the importance of following up on inquiries regarding the volume of media coverage a player receives.
We have previously visited this place.
The AFL’s first choice has previously generated a lot of excitement.
Go back and consider Matt Kreuzer, Tom Boyd, Jack Watts, or Jonathon Patton; none of them created the same buzz as Harley Reid.
However, the Eagles think Reid’s hype is genuine and that he will help them advance.
Yes, your correspondent is aware of the importance of following up on inquiries regarding the volume of media coverage a player receives.
But as long-time supporters of Australian football know, the best 18-year-old player in the country is almost never the best 25-year-old player in the country.
If recruiters could see those seven years in a crystal ball, what would they give?
Boyd, Watts, and Patton all felt the pressure of being a first-round selection and finished ahead of schedule.
Being the top draft pick also comes with a burden: you typically wind up at a club in terrible shape and don’t get paid for nothing.
After missing the playoffs three straight years, the West Coast Eagles are going through their worst season in their 37-year history.
However, the Eagles think Reid’s hype is genuine and he will help advance
The fans are not known for their patience and are spoiled by a record of success that no non-Victorian club can match. They are also eager for a change in luck.
Sadly, a portion of that enormous weight will have to be carried by the boy they have recruited.
Here’s where fans of the Eagles need to exercise patience. They have to be reasonable and restrain their expectations.
“Not the rescuer”
Brett Deledio is one man who is aware of the pressure Reid is going to face.
A Richmond team that had only once advanced to the finals in the previous nine years selected the two-time All Australian with the first pick in the 2004 draft.
Deledio claimed that players were free to decide for themselves what to think about the media attention Reid gets.
Deledio recalled reading an article about Chris Judd in which he claimed to have only read the Financial Review.
“I’m going to read the paper. I loved sports as a young child growing up in the country.
“That’s all well and good, but it becomes difficult to ignore when it persists.
“In my second year, I became increasingly aware of the pressure from the media to be more involved.”
Deledio stated that selecting one carries a distinct set of pressures.
“At pick one, you feel pressure to save your team, but Harley isn’t going to save you; he’s a kid who will be a very good player for a long time,” the player remarked.
Social media is going to be Harley’s biggest challenge. There was no social media when I first started.”
He said that Reid would benefit most from sticking to the fundamentals.
Deledio advised him to “just immerse himself in the work that he’s doing.”
“Train hard, gain the boys’ respect, and concentrate on those goals.” Simply ignore those external factors.”
extraordinary abilities
A sports prodigy never fails to captivate us.
Consider the 17-year-old Boris Becker who destroyed the opposition at Wimbledon in 1985, or the 20-year-old Mike Tyson who used an equally devastating blow to win the heavyweight title in the world the following year.
Tiger Woods, for example, became the youngest winner of the US Masters ever.
To put it mildly, though, each of the three men had problems.
The rise of 16-year-old Luke Littler at the World Darts Championship recently captured the attention of the entire world.
The lesson that Littler and Reid should take away from all three is to “keep the head.”
Social media or not, it’s not on your side.
It will demolish you even more quickly than it did to build you.
Football is a team sport, and Harley Reid has the advantage of playing for a team that has a track record of success and of holding onto the majority of its best players.
They’ll be necessary to protect him from the impending storms.
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