West Coast Eagles coach Andrew McQualter proud of Harley Reid for pushing through tough tag against Geelong

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West Coast Eagles coach Andrew McQualter proud of Harley Reid for pushing through tough tag against Geelong

West Coast coach Andrew McQualter has praised Harley Reid’s maturity to push through a heavy tag which Geelong counterpart Chris Scott labelled a “mark of respect”.

Reid was tailed for most of the night by Cats stopper Oisin Mullin, but still managed to have an impact in the 17.14 (116) to 11.7 (73) loss at Optus Stadium on Sunday night.

After a quiet first term which wielded only four disposals, Reid threatened to tear the game away from Geelong in a blistering second quarter that featured seven disposals and a team-lifting goal.

The No.1 draftee finished with 19 disposals, seven clearances and a goal, despite the extra attention.

“He really had an impact on the game. A heavy tag from the outset, worked his way into the game and had some pivotal moments,” McQualter said.

“He’s not going to have a massive amount of touches when you get a heavy tag but he had some great moments that helped our team for sure.”

Scott said the decision to send Mullin to Reid wasn’t easy considering the various dangerous options at the Eagles’ disposal.

Camera IconCat Bailey Smith and Eagle Harley Reid. Credit: Jackson Flindell/Jackson Flindell / The West Aust

“He did go to him at times and that’s just a mark of respect or at least it says something about how we feel about Harley’s threat,” he said.

“We were really torn as well because obviously we rate Tim Kelly very, very highly and they really have some punch in there. (Tyler) Brockman has added some speed and is in good for, (Elijah) Hewett is a good, young player.

“They’ve got some threats, so it wasn’t as if obvious for us to send Oisin to Harley and it wasn’t that way for the whole day.”

Scott also said Jeremy Cameron’s five-goal haul on young Eagles defender Reuben Ginbey was reflective of the game as the superstar kicked the final four majors to have an impact.

“It thought it was competitive and then it just blew out a bit at the end,” he said.

“I don’t think anyone should concentrate on the last bit too much. I thought it was a pretty good battle.”

The Eagles were within a goal midway through the final term but fell away as Geelong kicked seven goals to two in the final term to grab the victory.

McQualter said they had the Cats “spooked” for two quarters but ultimately the visitors’ class shone through.

“We’ll remain really consistent in what we’re going after and keep trying to show our players and build their belief in what we’re doing well,” he said.

“Geelong, they’re a very good footy team, a good footy club. I thought we competed and maybe even spooked them a little bit for that ******* of the game.

“We had them a little bit under pressure there for two quarters, which is a good sign, but their class was able to shine through in the end.”

Scott seemed to agree, saying the Eagles had improved significantly since the start of the season.

“We were up for a really competitive game and it’s clear the way they’re trying to play,” he said.

“I try not to spend too much time talking about opposition teams, at least publicly, but they’re a lot better team than they were eight weeks ago.”

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