Harley Reid has gone from giving Jack Viney “nightmares” to being one of the new teammates the former Melbourne skipper is most excited to play alongside at West Coast.
Viney, who joined the Eagles in a trade on Wednesday, recalled the famous double fend-off on Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver by Reid as well as the young star kicking Goal of the Year in his debut season.
The 32-year-old’s recruitment is part of a plan to add experience and leadership around the next generation of Eagles particularly Reid, with the recently crowned John Worsfold medallist set to benefit from Viney’s presence in the midfield.
The two are not unfamiliar with each other, according to Viney, who revealed he once had to tag the 21-year-old superstar — an experience he didn’t look forward to in the lead up.
“I’m so excited. Harley’s obviously one of the great talents of the AFL and there’s some other really talented guys in the midfield who I cannot wait to rub shoulders with and find ways of getting better,” Viney told The West Australian.
“There’s a couple of memories of Harley. There’s the one where he fended off Trac (Christian Petracca) and Clarry (Clayton Oliver) to kick a goal.
“And then the following year I had to tag him. I remember having a couple of nightmares before that game, thinking of being fended off.
“I’ve huge admiration for what Harley’s been able to achieve early in his career and cannot wait to get into it with him. Obviously he’s an ultra competitor, so I just can’t wait to compete with him.”
The goal Viney is talking about came in what was only Reid’s ninth game, when the young man sharked a ruck tap in the centre of Optus Stadium, before bursting away from Petracca and Oliver, taking three bounces and slotting a goal from just inside the 50m arc.
Reid has gone from strength to strength since, establishing himself as one of the premier midfielders in the AFL after coming in with plenty of expectation as the No.1 pick in 2023.
Last week, former Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge said the recruitment of Viney would only benefit Reid given the powerful midfielder could “protect him”.
“He does have players around him like Elliot Yeo and Tim Kelly which helps with the football side of things, but what you will get with Harley Reid, what you have seen over the last few years, is teams have targeted him. Teams realise that they can get under his skin,” Hodge told The West Australian.
“Jack Viney would mean he’ll have someone there to protect him.
“Jack Viney is as hard as nails. If he can get his body right and play good consistent football, at least Harley knows he will have someone out there who’s going to go out there and look after him every step of the way, which for a young fellow coming through, trying to be the best football player he can be but also getting targeted from the opposition, it would be a breath of fresh air.”