West Coast Eagles defender Tom Cole glowing in praise for prized No.1 draft pick Harley Reid at training

West Coast defender Tom Cole says Harley Reid is living up to the hype in his first months on the training track.

Cole has spent some time this pre-season playing directly on Reid and has been left impressed by what the Tongala product has brought to the table so far.

“He’s been pretty good out on the training track,” Cole told SEN.

“He’s a bigger body for an 18-year-old, so his contest work is very good, he’s just been playing off instinct a lot which has been good to see.

“Hopefully he floats down to the backline a bit with us and gives us a bit of help because we’ll take it for sure but he has been pretty good so far.”

Cole’s endorsement for Reid to spend some time down back comes after Adam Simpson said Reid would likely split his time between the backline and in the midfield.

“I think there’ll be a little bit of back and a little bit of on-ball from what I’m seeing at the moment, but he goes forward and has a bit of presence there as well,” Simpson said earlier this month.

“He seems to have his most presence around the centre, around the ball. I think we need to respect that but just to stick him in there for 110 minutes a game comes with risks.

“We need to settle him, that’s for sure, and we’re working on that now. But it’s more than likely to be down back and a little bit on-ball.”

However, Reid was not at the top of Cole’s list for players he was looking forward to seeing this season with the defender backing two other young stars to go big in 2024.

“Noah Long has been real good he’s fitter and stronger, he’s hard to play on and the way he’s playing at the moment he’ll make a jump,” Cole said.

“Brady Hough is training well and he had a really good year last season and he’s another set to take a leap this year.”

“He’s willing to get better and his want to improve is second to none.”

After two disastrous seasons, many are predicting the Eagles to claim the wooden spoon for a second straight season, an opinion which Cole called valid.

However, the 26-year-old said the group would not be shying away from the challenges of the season ahead.

“We’re pretty realistic, we haven’t performed well at all and those opinions are probably valid to be fair,” he said.

“We all just want to get better, there’s no ceiling for us at the moment and we’re going to do everything we can to prove them wrong.”

With changes around the backrooms of the club and at the top, with new CEO Don Pyke, Cole said their is a renewed energy around the club.

“I don’t have much influence at the top of the club but Pykey’s got an impressive resume, he’s well equipped for the role and he’s just as excited as we are about what the future holds, it’s good to have him on board,” he said.

“They’re subtle changes, but training is looking a little bit different our recovery has changed and change was needed after the couple of years we’ve had.

“There’s been a change around the club and there’s a feeling of excitement around the club and (coach Adam Simpson) has certainly felt that too.”