Fremantle dynamo Murphy Reid's junior coach has offered an insight into his rise to stardom.
Sandringham Dragons coach Rob Harding mentored Reid in both his years in the Talent League and has a distinctive first impression of the youngster.
“I remember coming in my first year, he was a bottom-ager and through that pre-season we had 96 players and I have to learn everyone's names so there's a lot of players I have to get my head across. He stood out straight away,” Harding told Zero Hanger.
“He basically couldn't get tackled. Every contest drill we did, he'd find his way out of it, so pretty soon I worked out ‘this kid's pretty good' so he played a lot throughout the year, he played in our premiership in 2023, he was in the Vic Metro squad and played a game in the nationals and then just got better and better through the 2024 year.
"We got to the end of the year, he'd been Metro MVP and he'd done stuff throughout the year which was just exceptional."
A lack of speed was regularly cited as a concern around Reid despite the narrative throughout the year consistently being that he compensates for it with Scott Pendlebury-like composure.
There was also some query about whether he would be a flight risk, but a recent deal until 2032 has made that concern look silly.
Reid took out last year's Rising Star and is in All Australian contention last year after being selected with Pick 17 in 2024.
“We got to the end of the year and somehow he's not a top five pick. Draft night was interesting, we had enough mail to know he was going to slide,” Harding said.
“Rapt to see what he's doing at Freo now. The role he played a fair bit last year as that forward coming up to stoppage is what he did with us in his bottom age year, and then he got more midfield (in his top age year) which we're starting to see a bit of now.
“He's just getting better and better and he's had really good mentors since he's gotten over there.”
Reid's Dockers take on Western Bulldogs on Friday night.
To catch Craft of the Draft's full chat with Harding, where he speaks on a few recent Sandringham Dragons graduates in the AFL and host of 2026 Dragons prospects, click here.
