Fremantle young gun Murphy Reid is on track to become one of the greatest steals in the history of the AFL draft after a stunning start to his career, according to a pre-eminent junior talent expert. Plucked by the Dockers with pick No.17 in the 2024 national draft, the 19-year-old won the league's Rising Star award in his first season and has taken his game to another level in his second campaign.
Draft guru Mick Ablett said he had 'no doubt' Reid could go down as one of the biggest over-performers of their draft position in the modern era. 'He had the best footy IQ of that particular draft group,' Ablett said. 'I was surprised to see him slide to where he did at 17. Possibly, the question mark could've been around his speed and that lack of raw power.'
Reid's instant success is one of several recent hits from Fremantle's recruiting team, who have also plucked superstar forward Josh Treacy and key contributors Luke Ryan, Sam Switkowski and Karl Worner out of the rookie draft. Ablett said the group, led by David Walls, deserved plenty of credit for helping the Dockers' transformation into a premiership contender.
Former St Kilda coach Scott Watters said Reid's talent was immediately obvious when he first watched him play as a teenager. 'The thing that we're seeing now is a player who just has sublime understanding and awareness of what's around him and he's incredibly creative,' Watters said. 'His spatial awareness is quite incredible, but then he also has the gift in his hands to be able to use that space really creatively.'
