Essendon great Matthew Lloyd believes Harley Reid‘s situation could be mirroring Jason Horne-Francis‘ messy exit from North Melbourne as he comes under fire again for his antics.
Reid was captured flipping off Lions fans on the weekend and battled with Oscar McInerney. He also had words with Gold Coast Suns players during round one.
Lloyd defended the former No.1 draft pick after round one but was left disappointed by his antics on the weekend.
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“Watching him for a second week, I didn’t think his behaviour had changed where his performances had been influenced in a negative way because he’s wasting far too much energy wanting to fight others, wrestle others and playing with a real chip on his shoulder which is not helping his footy,” he said on Nine’s Footy Classified.
Harley Reid against the Lions. AFL Photos via Getty Images
“I would now get him in if I was the coach Andrew McQualter and say your footy’s not great, what you’re doing on weekends isn’t helping and give him a stern warning.
“… I feel that if he continues to carry on like that and doesn’t listen to McQualter or his team leaders, is he trying to self sabotage himself and his career at West Coast or is he just immature?”
Lloyd continued by referencing Horne-Francis, who left the Kangaroos for Port Adelaide in 2022 despite being taken as the No.1 pick for that year.
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“I thought back to Jason Horne-Francis today and his time at North Melbourne where he didn’t respect those around him … Jason didn’t want to listen to anybody at North Melbourne so I think it’s a real test for the West Coast Eagles and (Harley) and their relationship over the rest of this season,” he said.
“It’s a must watch for me, how much does he want to dig in?
“People talk around him around the huddles , he’s disengaged at huddles at quarter times and breaks. I’ll be shocked if he isn’t being pulled in by his senior leaders and coach if they let this behaviour continue because it’s not helping him.”
Despite the conjecture around Reid’s performance against the premiers, he finished with 15 disposals, six clearances and seven tackles.
