West Coast, and potentially the AFL, are set to investigate a strange moment in the dying minutes of the Eagles' clash against Richmond between star youngster Harley Reid and a fan.
On the members wing near the Eagles forward 50, West Coast trailed by a single point as the ball was set to be thrown in after a stoppage, and as the boundary umpire set himself to hoist the ball back into play, Reid pointed towards a member of the crowd.
Reid looked to be trying to gain the attention of umpires or security before turning his attention back to the game.
West Coast coach Andrew McQualter said he was aware of the incident, but was yet to know the circumstances behind what caught Reid's attention.
"I saw it. I saw it happening live, but I've got no idea what happened," McQualter said post-game.
"It looks like he got himself a bit riled up. So I'm sure we'll look into it and the AFL will figure out what happened there."
The teenager was instrumental in patches for the Eagles, including kicking a final quarter bomb from outside 50 metres to reclaim a West Coast lead.
It is not the first time Reid has engaged with the crowd this season after delivering a middle finger to a rowdy Brisbane Lions fan who was heckling the 19-year-old at the Gabba in Round 2.
Reid was fined $1000 for misconduct; however, no gesture of misconduct was used in this exchange between Reid and fan.
The Eagles midfielder could potentially receive a please explain for the incident, although the crowd appears to be the instigator in this instance.
Multiple other players have received sanctions for fan interactions this season, most notably Geelong recruit Bailey Smith for his numerous middle fingers to the crowd, occurring against Adelaide in Gather Round and Hawthorn on Easter Monday.
Hawthorn's Nick Watson also copped a fine after he was filmed gesturing the same response to the Richmond cheersquad in Round 8.
Reid has also been fined for striking Melbourne's Caleb Windsor and instigating a melee/wrestle in the Western Derby this season.
McQualter also provided an injury update on Oscar Allen, who was a late out against Richmond on Sunday, stating the injury was minor.
"It's not bad, he was really close to playing. We gave him up to the last minute to play," McQualter said.
"No, (he didn't injure it on) Thursday. He just hurt it a couple of weeks ago. I think he's had a patella that he's hurt.
"It's his good knee, so he hasn't got a long-term issue. So we'll just work through that with him, and he'll hopefully be right for next week."
West Coast have now slumped to a further winless start of 0-9, with Richmond's Tom Brown laying a chasedown tackle on Tom Gross in the final 30 seconds to save the game for the Tigers and continue the Eagles' horror run.
West Coast host St Kilda in Round 10 in a chance to avoid a tenth consecutive loss in season 2025.
