Once bitten, twice shy: Melbourne are adamant they won’t let West Coast wunderkind Harley Reid show them up a second time.
No.1 draft pick Reid proved the architect of the Demons’ downfall in the Eagles’ shock 35-point home win in May, collecting 21 disposals, seven clearances, two goals and three score assists in a magical display.
Reid celebrates a goal during the round 10 match between Waalitj Marawar (the West Coast Eagles) and Narrm (the Melbourne Demons) at Optus Stadium on May 19.Credit: Paul Kane/Getty Images
That included burning off Christian Petracca then taking three bounces to kick one of his majors, and another play in which he fended off Clayton Oliver with his left hand and Petracca with his right before clearing the ball forward for Jack Darling to goal.
The Demons (12th, 8-7) will reunite with Reid and the Eagles (16th, 3-12) at the MCG on Sunday.
“He showed us last time what he’s capable of to a really high level. So there’s no doubt we’ll be prepared for Harley Reid,” coach Simon Goodwin said on Thursday.
“We will have some plans in place to make sure he doesn’t have the impact that he had on the game last time. That’s one of our challenges for the weekend.
“The midfield need to respond in that area this week against a high-quality midfield group.”
Goodwin insisted there were no thoughts of “revenge or retribution”, simply that Melbourne wanted to get back to their best.
“It wasn’t too long ago that we played West Coast at their best,” he said.