West Coast Eagles Coach Demands Discipline from Harley Reid After Costly Lapses
West Coast Eagles coach Andrew McQualter has issued a stern call for young star Harley Reid to demonstrate better discipline on the field, following a series of undisciplined acts during the team's heavy loss to Geelong on Sunday. The Eagles, who initially matched Geelong in the early stages, were overwhelmed by a devastating five-goal burst from the Cats in the second quarter, leading to a decisive defeat.
Reid's Performance Under Scrutiny
Harley Reid, despite contributing 22 disposals and kicking a goal to be among West Coast's better players, gave away five free kicks during the match. One notable incident occurred in the final quarter when he was penalized for dropping his knees into Geelong's Tom Atkins. Earlier in the game, Reid also conceded a 50-meter penalty that resulted in an easy goal for Sam De Koning, further compounding the Eagles' struggles.
These disciplinary lapses come just a week after Reid was criticized for what was described as petulant behaviour during the Eagles' heavy loss to Sydney. McQualter expressed disappointment, stating, Harley let himself down in that area today and he knows that. That was not the way we want Harley to play. He acknowledged Reid's strengths, adding, But I also thought he had parts of his game that were strong. We'll keep working with him like we do with all our players.
Team-Wide Discipline Issues Highlighted
McQualter emphasized that Reid's actions were part of a broader team problem, with West Coast being punished for multiple disciplinary lapses in the loss to Geelong. Young gun Josh Lindsay also gave up a 50-meter penalty late in the game, leading to a certain goal for Ollie Henry. The coach lamented, We let ourselves down today in that part of the game. That was disappointing. It's something we need to rectify really quickly. We can't afford to be undisciplined and give away any scores.
He explained that factors like frustration and fatigue can contribute to such incidents, but stressed the importance of maintaining team focus. Sometimes frustration boils over. Sometimes fatigue comes into it. But ultimately it is a team game and you can't let your own individual frustrations become a team problem. It's something we don't want to have in our club and our team. We will speak about it and ensure it doesn't become a thing.
Contest Metrics and Game Analysis
McQualter noted that once Geelong took control of the match, they dominated in contested play, overwhelming the Eagles as the game progressed. Pretty much every contest metric you look at, they got a hold of us as the game went on. It just overwhelmed us today by the end, a little bit - a great lesson for our guys to go through. Despite the loss, there were some positive takeaways for West Coast, including Jobe Shanahan's four goals and ruckman Bailey Williams' seven clearances in his first senior game this season.
The coach reiterated Reid's importance to the team, stating, He's a very, very good player. He's important to us. But we want him to be important to us for the whole time. We want to ensure his discipline doesn't tip over. As the Eagles look to rebound from this defeat, addressing discipline will be a key focus in their training and strategy moving forward.
