Footy great hits out at Harley Reid again as he reveals why he thinks the West Coast star is a ‘real concern’ and why he can’t believe he ‘hasn’t been fined’ for controversial moment
Kane Cornes has again delivered a scathing assessment of Harley Reid’s performance for West Coast this weekend after admitting on Sunday that he was ‘worried about’ the Eagles No 1 draft pick.
Reid underwhelmed during the Andrew McQualter’s side’s 87-point drubbing against Gold Coast.
Despite kicking a goal in the match, the 19-year-old struggled to get his hands on the footy, was slow to get to make it to the contact areas and was also slammed by some online for staging.
Reid had been accused of flopping to the floor too easily after he had been pushed off the ball by Gold Coast defender Charlie Ballard.
He was also at the centre of multiple heated clashes with Gold Coast players throughout the match and was seen laughing and joking with opposition players at full time, after the Eagles had suffered a 7.7 (49) 20.16 (136) defeat in front of their home fans at the Optus Stadium.
Port Adelaide great, Cornes, had stated on Sunday during First Call with Kane Cornes that he ‘wasn’t worried about Reid in the long term’ but several incidents and his general form right now had raised concerns.
Kane Cornes has doubled down on his criticisms of Harley Reid’s performance during West Coast’s defeat by Gold Coast Suns
Reid (left) endured a difficult game, struggling to have many touches on the footy, despite kicking a goal
Reid managed 12 disposals, one tackle and a mark during their season-opener at the Optus Stadium
He has since doubled down on those claims on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters on Monday night, claiming that teams would be foolish to pay his reported $2million-a-season salary.
‘I’ve never said that long term he’s not going to get there, but I think in five or six years time he will,’ Cornes began while reviewing his highlights on the show.
‘What we’re seeing right now is a real concern. The same happened. It’s probably a repeat of what we’ve seen over the past 12 months.
‘The staging, the playing, the flopping for free-kicks.
Noting the incident with Ballard, Cornes said: ‘This one’s been shown. I can’t believe he hasn’t been fined by the MRO for that yet.’
Cornes also highlighted Reid’s lack of experience at AFL level noting that the Suns had targeted him to good effect during the game.
He highlighted a segment where Reid was dropped to the ground by an opposition player but continued to push and shove his opponent while he was on the floor, instead of getting up and following the play.
‘Then they come after him and he doesn’t know how to handle that,’ Cornes said.
Reid was criticised by Cornes and many others following the match for simulation, after he appeared to flop on the ground after being pushed by Charlie Ballard
Cornes also stated that seeing Reid laughing with Gold Coast players after suffering defeat was the ‘most concerning of the lot’
‘The ball’s right there, within 30m, but he’s still wrestling. He’s distracted and he’s off his game.
He added: ‘This is what teams are going to do to him. They’re going to start on him at stoppage and expose him down the way.
When noting Reid was seen laughing with opposition players after the defeat, Cornes added: ‘This is almost as concerning of the lot, it’s the smiling and the laughing after.’
Trade rumours are continuing to revolve around Reid’s West Coast future.
James Hird claimed on Channel 9’s Footy Furnace last week that he believes the Tongala-born midfielder will return to play for a Victorian club in the future.
Hird had claimed that clubs would need to pay $2m-per-season to land the midfielder but Cornes said he’d be baffled if a club opted to pay that much for the midfielder.
‘There is no way you could responsibly pay Harley Reid $2m a season right now. You couldn’t do it,’ he said.
‘You’d be nervous about paying him $800,000-a-season. His ceiling is Dustin Martin – that’s how good he could be – but his floor is Jake Stringer.’
The Port Adelaide great also noted that Reid was seen scrapping with multiple Gold Coast players during the match
Cornes’ comments attracted some questions from Nick Riewoldt, also on the punditry panel, with the St Kilda great asking: ‘If Port could get him now for $1million-a-season, you’d say: “Don’t do it?”‘
Cornes replied: ‘I would be so nervous about paying Harley Reid [that much].’
He then revealed the youngster who is outperforming the 2023 No 1 draft pick, claiming that Port Adelaide star Jason Horne-Francis, 21, ‘is a far superior to Harley Reid’.
The comments were divisive among fans on social media.
‘This is just dumb. Absolutely terrible take,’ one X user wrote.
Another added: ‘This is such a lazy take. He’s [Reid’s] had one bad game, and suddenly he’s far worse than a bloke who at this stage in his career, had already bolted ship and gone home.’
But one fan agreed with Cornes: ‘Agree with Cornes here. I’m not convinced about Reid yet either tbh. Way too early and after witnessing Lalor on Thursday night, it’s made this take even fairer.’
