AFL Academy selectors will weigh in heavily on a decision whether Tongala teenage football star Harley Reid will play with the Blues should they reach the 2022 Murray Football League grand final.
Reid’s future is the subject of hot debate leading into September, as he is touted as a potential number one pick at the 2023 AFL Draft, in November next year.
Tongala will, of course, need to win its way into the September 17 premiership play-off, before AFL Academy coach, former 200-game Collingwood defender Tarkyn Lockyer, and his selectors are called on to make a call on Reid’s availability.
The Blues sit third on the ladder with only three rounds of home-and-away football remaining before the finals.
Reid will also be part of the decision-making process, if it comes to that, as to whether or not he strips with his home club for a crack at its first premiership since Des Campbell’s Blues won the title in 1983 — 39 years ago.
He has played only one game with the club this season, but league rules state that his NAB League games count as senior MFL appearances — therefore he has qualified for the club.
In a quirk of the rules, he would even be available for the MFL Under-17s grand final — where many of his junior teammates still play — if Tongala was to make the final week of finals at the underage level.
Reid is due to play with the Vic Country team in the final round of the NAB Under-18 national championships six days after the MFL grand final — at Ikon Park against Vic Metro on Friday, September 23.
He told the Free Press he would sit down with the Pioneers’ coaching panel this week to discuss the hectic September schedule.
“I think I could play both if Tonny managed to reach the grand final. It is a six-day break,” he said.
“And I am desperate to be a part of this finals series. After all, I have played with the club since the under-12s.”
Reid said the club had applied no pressure to make himself available, but he felt it wanted him to be there almost as much as he did.
He didn’t play with the Blues against Rumbalara in its one-sided win in round 16, having spent the previous three days snowboarding with St Joseph’s College at Falls Creek.
“I was a bit sore from a few of the stacks I had,” he said.
Asked whether he had informed the Pioneers of the snowboarding trip he said, “yes, they just said to go easy’’.
Reid said this year was very much about being involved in a Tongala finals series because his 2023 would be devoted to playing at the highest level he could.
“I really don’t know how much, if any, I will get to play with Tongala next year. So this year is important to me,’’ he said.
Reid’s hectic late September schedule could include the Future Stars Under-17s match on September 24, when Australia’s best juniors play as a curtain raiser on the MCG to the main event — the AFL grand final.
Lockyer said several stakeholders, including the player himself, would be part of the discussion about availability for the Tongala grand final.
There were several scenarios that would be unpacked in Reid’s case as the football season moved into September.
One of those was his Bendigo Pioneers involvement in the unique NAB League wildcard round.
The MFL grand final was the same weekend as the NAB League grand final, which Bendigo Pioneers (although a rank outsider) could still qualify for — despite being 12th on the ladder.
NAB League teams ranked fifth to 18th at the end of the home-and-away season play in a wildcard round (on August 27) while the top four teams sit on the sidelines.
Tongala’s finals series starts that same weekend, meaning Reid would not be available for the Blues.
Lockyer said the AFL Academy preferred its players to be involved in the pathway program, although being a country footballer himself (North Albany, West Australia) he understood the passionate nature of the decision.
“I will be a voice in the decision, but not the only one,” Lockyer said.
“There will be a few different stakeholders, including Harley.
“The bottom line is, how do we get Harley best prepared for the Vic Country game (on September 23)?
“I totally get the importance of him playing for his hometown football club.”
Pioneers administrator David Meade suggested his team could well cause a few surprises come the finals.
“We will get Noah Long (Echuca) and Charlie Barnett (Kyabram) back, along with our other APS (Associated Public Schools) players,” he said.
“We haven’t played with a full team at any stage this season.”
Reid was averaging 22 possessions and four tackles a game with the Pioneers this season, playing at centre-half-back in several instances for the undersized team.
His best game came when he almost single-handedly took the Pioneers to victory against the Western Jets in round nine with 30 possessions.
Meade likened his season to that of Collingwood’s headline-grabbing goalkicking ace Jack Ginnivan, who polled extremely well in the Pioneers’ best and fairest as a bottom-age player in 2019.
Ginnivan and North Melbourne recruit Flynn Perez, along with Port Adelaide’s Kane Farrell, all had strong seasons as 17-year-olds with the Pioneers.
Meade described Reid as the best bottom-age player he had ever seen at the Pioneers, which included Richmond superstar Dustin Martin.
Crystal balling is not a recommended practice for any sportsperson, so Reid will be doing his best to keep his mind busy between now and, not only September but as far off as November next year (when the 2023 AFL Draft will be held).