Andrew McQualter responds to Harley Reid $25 million report, Oscar Allen Brisbane free agency call

West Coast coach Andrew McQualter remains steadfast in his confidence that young star Harley Reid will remain at the club long-term.

But McQualter concedes the Eagles are “still not clear” on co-captain Oscar Allen’s future as he weighs up a free agency move.

The Eagles, who’ve won just one of their 21 games so far this season, will be one of the big watchers this off-season, with the club to hold the No. 1 draft pick while also being central to many trade reports.

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The in-demand Reid, sidelined for the rest of this season due to a syndesmosis injury, is closing in on a decision on his footy future.

Despite being contracted until the end of next season, Reid is expected to make a call on his long-term footy future in the coming weeks amid significant interest from multiple, cashed-up Victorian clubs.

While the Eagles and Reid’s management have been discussing possible contract extensions for well over a year, clubs like Hawthorn, Geelong and Essendon have been consistently linked to the Bendigo Pioneers product, while it was reported this week St Kilda was prepared to offer him a 12-year, $25 million contract.

Asked if he had any clarity on what Reid, who recently returned from a quick trip to Victoria, would do long-term, McQualter told reporters on Thursday: “I’m really confident Harley will be here. He’s invested

West Coast's $24m decision! | 03:03

“I’ve spoken about this all along. Every day, Harley turns up for work, he’s incredibly invested in this team and in this club.

“I’m really optimistic Harley will be here, love working with him and hopeful we’ll work with him for a long time to come.”

McQualter also dismissed reports of rival clubs offering Reid contracts worth over $2 million per season.

“Honestly, I don’t read any of it. I really don’t,” he said.

“I’m not being disrespectful to anyone, but I think at the moment it’s clear in our industry that there’s so many rumours and speculation that go on. If you get yourself caught up in it, you’re in a tizz.

“I understand there’s always stories and things to write, but we’re pretty focused on what we’re doing internally at the moment.”

But whether Allen remains at West Coast remains unclear to McQualter and the Eagles.

Oscar Allen and Harley Reid of the Eagles. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

Allen remains unsigned beyond this season and eligible for free agency, with rival clubs hovering knowing that West Coast has yet to offer him a comparable contract.

The West Coast co-captain earlier this year endured a week of intense scrutiny after his meeting with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell became public.

Despite Hawthorn’s strong interest, reigning premiers Brisbane is seen as the front-runner for Allen – should he opt to leave – as it’s had interest in him for some time.

“We speak to Oscar regularly, we’re in contact. We’re working with Oscar’s management,” McQualter said of Allen, who’s been sidelined since Round 14 due to a calf/Achilles injury, which prompted him to undergo patella tendon surgery.

“We’re still not clear where it’ll be. But we’re working really hard to try and make Oscar play here for a long time.”

Barring a late-season upset win over either the Bulldogs or Swans, the Eagles are on track to record their worst season in club history after their 2-20 record in 2022.

Despite the poor record, McQualter said he was positive about his club’s young crop of players.

Why Eagles 'deserve' draft help | 00:51

“The year has ebbed and flowed with our performance,” he said.

“The start of the year was really poor then we had a 10 to 12-week period, which was strong and we built our game, dropped for a month and then we saw a better performance on the weekend.

“We haven’t been able to win many games of football, but within that we’ve had great growth in our system, our belief of the way we’re going about things.

“I’m particularly bullish on our young group, I think we’ve got a core of what will be here for a long period of time and drive us towards success in the future. The challenge at the moment is we’ve just been young and haven’t been able to do it for four quarters of football.”

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