West Coast Midfielder Jack Graham has revealed some key advice he shared with his young Eagles teammate Harley Reid, contributing to a shift in attitude on-field.
It comes as reports suggest there has been a noticeable shift in his engagement at the club over the past month or so, with the former No. 1 draft pick likely to remain an Eagle.
Reid has found his spark again and has been playing with more focus, maturity and consistency – acting as a barometer for an improved-looking West Coast side.
Graham told SportFM the 32-gamer was self-motivated to approach people within the club for support after a difficult start to the season.
“After the game and even in the review, he was seeing what was happening. He was a bit disappointed with himself,” he said.
“He’s got to work and reached out to people to help him. That’s what we love. He’s willing to do the work and get better.
“He just wants to help the team and play the best football he can.”
In previous games, Reid found himself bogged down in on-field troubles, conceding a league-high 34 free kicks and protesting umpiring decisions on several occasions.
Many of his critics suggested this was a distraction, and an area he needed to stamp out, which he has done, with many seeing a noticeable improvement in his past few games.
Graham said the conversation happened around five weeks ago – around the time his on-field shift became noticeable.
“We could see how he was getting frustrated at the umpires or just burning a lot of energy through that,” he said.
“I’ve never seen an umpire change their mind. I told him that you can argue as much as you want, so the quicker you can just get on with it, it’ll really benefit the team.
“He took that on board and he’s been great these last few weeks. We’re watching him come to life, how strong he is in the contest and all the special stuff he can do, take hangers, kick goals from outside 50.
“Really glad that he’s up and about, but he’s done a bit of work. So it’s credit to Harley as well.”
West Coast will head to Bunbury this weekend to play North Melbourne in the first official AFL game to take place in the South West.
Graham believes the Eagles could secure their second win for the season if they’re competitive across the four quarters.
“We’ve got to be competitive for four quarters and continue to play the brand that we’ve been building over the last four or five weeks,” he said.
“We get a great opportunity to go down there in front of our fans against North and have a red-hot crack.
“If we play four quarters of the footy that we played last week against Geelong, hopefully we’re in front and get another win.”
IMAGE: West Coast Eagles