West Coast coach Adam Simpson says first-year star Harley Reid was already “flagging” when he delivered his stunning derby performance and was well due for a rest this weekend.
Simpson said the No.1 pick was eager to follow his exploits against Fremantle by travelling to face Gold Coast on Sunday but “understood” the club’s decision to put him on ice.
The 19-year-old has instead been permitted to return home to northern Victoria this weekend to visit his family.
The decision will dent the Eagles’ chances of snatching three consecutive wins for the first time since May 2021, but Simpson said it was more important to protect Reid from injury.
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“We’ve made a decision looking at the bigger picture,” Simpson said on Friday.
“We’re going to miss (Reid) … but doing the right thing by the kid is also our priority.”
Simpson said Reid’s “metrics” had shown the Eagles strength and conditioning staff he was in need of a break after playing significant minutes in their first six matches.
“I think he was pretty keen to play (against Gold Coast), but he also understood the situation,” Simpson said.
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“He was just flagging a little bit with his body – with the metrics we measure our players on each week it slowly decreased the last couple of weeks.”
“We’ve made a decision looking at the bigger picture. We’re going to miss him … but doing the right thing by the kid is also our priority.”
Simpson said he thought premiership forward Liam Ryan would be “nervous” in his comeback after repeat serious hamstring injuries
Ryan, 27, is contracted until the end of 2026, but has not played since round 3 last season due to a horror run of soft tissue injuries.
He has played two WAFL games including time spent at halfback in a bid to manage his return to senior level.
“I think he’s nervous. It’s been a while. We’ll manage him through the game … we’ll look after him with some minutes,” Simpson said.
