Patrick Cripps and Lachie Neale floated for shock AFL move to West Coast to help Harley Reid
Luke Hodge has nominated Scott Pendlebury, Lachie Neale and Patrick Cripps as the type of player the West Coast Eagles need to try and bring in to help mentor young gun Harley Reid. The 19-year-old made unwanted headlines this week after a sub-par performance in the Eagles' loss to the Suns, including an embarrassing moment in which he flopped to try and win a free kick.
The controversy comes amid speculation Reid will look to move back to a Victorian club as soon as possible. Claims have emerged that West Coast don't have the leaders in their squad to help shape Reid and set him on the right track to being successful.
Speaking on Channel 7 program 'Agenda Setters' on Tuesday night, Hawthorn legend Hodge said he was in a similar situation to Reid when he was a teenager, but had great leaders around him. "I've spoken to a few former West Coast players that reckon the leadership hasn't been there," Hodge said.
"It's almost like they're walking around on egg shells because they don't want to annoy him..they don't want to get him off-side because next year he could be gone and they want to keep him around as long as they possibly can. The best way to do that is get people there who he's going to respect and listen to."
When asked who the Eagles need to get, Hodge threw up Pendlebury, Cripps and Neale as the ideal targets. Pendlebury is coming to the end of his career at Collingwood, and could do a similar thing to what Hodge did when he played his final two seasons at Brisbane to help mentor their young stars.
Cripps and Neale are both originally from Perth, but Hodge conceded they're unlikely to leave Carlton and Brisbane for a return to the west. "I had Sam Mitchell, (Shane) Crawford, (Ben) Dixon, (Richie) Vanderburg," Hodge said. "I'm trying to look at someone who could move to West Coast, but there's not a lot of people around.
"They need someone with that aura (like Cripps and Neale) who Harley Reid will listen to and respect. They'd have to have been at the top of their game for 10-15 years, won Brownlows or won premierships. When I went to Brisbane that was my job, to try and teach the younger guys the rights and wrongs."
"I've spoken to a few former West Coast players that reckon the leadership hasn't been there."Do the Eagles need a mentor for Harley Reid? https://t.co/tPYQbRKFvX pic.twitter.com/LQw63hkq2J
— 7AFL (@7AFL) March 18, 2025
Fellow panellist Dale Thomas questioned whether Hodge's comments were somewhat "disrespectful" to West Coast's leaders like Luke Shuey, Elliot Yeo and Dom Sheed. "Shuey has been a premiership player a couple of times, won a best and fairest," Thomas said. "Are you saying they have to go outside that? In better sides and better systems the younger guys get covered by the veterans, and that's probably more of the issue here."
RELATED:
Ken Hinkley responds after James Hird calls out Port Adelaide coach
Taylor Walker hits back amid ugly claims about Adelaide champion
Meanwhile, Adelaide Crows champion Rory Sloane expressed similar comments about the Eagles' lack of leadership and said the scrutiny around Reid's first game of the year has been "appalling". Sloane said: "His performance last year was one of the best of any kid throughout the AFL and I really hope he's listening to the voices that matter - the ones inside the footy club. It's important to have those leaders, and he probably doesn't have that at the moment at West Coast."
"I've found it appalling really, the scrutiny that's fallen on him. He's a 19-year-old kid."Rory Sloane can't believe the criticism of Harley Reid in just his second year.#9FootyClassified | Watch on Nine & 9Now 📺 pic.twitter.com/9fAcVrWCwJ
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) March 18, 2025

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Boston Globe
33 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
St. John's Prep, Lexington advance to Division 1 boys' tennis final
Prokopis and Kouzminov rallied for a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 triumph to power the top-ranked Eagles (21-0) to a 3-1 win over the fifth-ranked Patriots (14-4) in the Division 1 semifinals at Newton North High. Advertisement The second singles match between Prep junior Jack Prokopis and Concord-Carlisle sophomore Pedro Nachbin reached a third set, but did not finish due to slippery court conditions. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'We lost focus, I would say, in the second set, and got ourselves behind the 8-ball,' Luke Prokopis said. 'We haven't really played any third sets this year … so it was a different experience. But we just said to get the first three games and just maintain it. So we're very happy we could close it.' Lexington doubles partners Sritan Devineni (left) and Evan Saptari celebrate after a point during Monday's Division 1 boys' tennis semifinal against Acton-Boxborough. Heather Diehl for the Boston Glo Just feet away on the Newton North courts, Lexington freshman Joshua Chen faced a similar test of resilience in his third set against Acton-Boxborough senior Rishi Dasari on the second singles court. With Lexington up 2-1 in the match and in need of one more point, Chen got a key break against Dasari to pull ahead 4-3 the third set and never looked back, capturing a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 triumph. Chen's win secured a 3-1 semifinal victory for the sixth-ranked Minutemen (23-1) over the second-ranked Revolution (14-2). Advertisement 'Once I got that break in the middle of the third set, I really found my confidence,' Chen said. 'I was really going back and forth in how I was feeling, but that [break] just made me know I could win it.' Other victories for Lexington came from freshman Daniel Lee (6-2, 6-1) at third singles, and sophomore Lucas Dai and junior Ryan Wade (6-3, 6-2) at second doubles. The first doubles match also did not finish due to court conditions. The two perennial powers will now have a rematch in the Division 1 state finals, after the Eagles handed Lexington their only loss of the season, 3-2, back on May 6. Division 2 State Duxbury 3, Hopkinton 1 — As his third singles match intensified early in the second set, Duxbury senior Taylor Bettencourt immediately felt lighter when he glanced over and saw his teammates lining the fence and hollering his name. 'I owe it all to them,' Bettencourt said. 'As soon as they started getting rowdy, that's where I started locking in and doing what I needed to do, just using that momentum.' Bettencourt pulled away for a 6-2, 6-1 victory in a captivating semifinal showdown that was closer than the score indicated — sending the fourth-seeded Dragons (19-3) to the state final for a third consecutive season. Colgate-bound senior standout Tim Vargas cruised, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 1 singles, and senior Peter Burnham and sophomore Willy Pierce did the same, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 1 doubles. Advertisement 'We've got some players, that's for sure,' said Duxbury coach John Bunar. 'We played very well today. This one, if we didn't have our best and they were playing well, we lose it. We played our best today.' Junior Chavdar Kamenerov and sophomore Owen Gormley won, 6-4, 6-3, at second doubles for the No. 1 Hillers (21-1), and sophomore Joe Krattenmaker led, 6-4, 1-3, before the match was called due to rain. In the state final, Duxbury will face the winner of No. 3 Sharon and No. 7 Westborough, who play Tuesday at Lexington High (weather permitting). Trevor Hass reported from Bridgewater. Matty Wasserman can be reached at


Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
California files lawsuit against DOJ over transgender athlete demand
California filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department on Monday after officials demanded that the state's public high schools confirm they will bar transgender athletes from competing in girls' sports. The state said in its lawsuit that the Justice Department had "no right to make such a demand" and cited "no authority which would allow them to issue or enforce the Certification Demand Letter" to each local education agency. California defended the laws that have come into question, which allow athletes to participate in sports "consistent with" their gender identity and doesn't violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The lawsuit said the state's bylaws "do not classify or discriminate based on 'biological sex,' do not require schools to 'depriv[e] [cisgender] female students of athletic opportunities and benefits on the basis of their sex,' and do not effectuate any differential treatment on the basis of sex. "Instead, allowing athletic participation consistent with students' gender identity is substantially related to the important government interests of affording all students the benefits of an inclusive school environment, including participation in school sports, and preventing the serious harms that transgender students would suffer from a discriminatory, exclusionary policy," the lawsuit added. The state requested an injunction from the demand letter. Last week, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital that public school districts must "certify in writing" by June 9 that they will not abide by the California Interscholastic Federation's gender identity rules. "Knowingly depriving female students of athletic opportunities and benefits on the basis of their sex would constitute unconstitutional sex discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause," Dhillon wrote in the letter. The California Interscholastic Federation governs public and private high school sports in the state and has a bylaw that requires its members to recognize gender identity in sports. All students should be able to participate in school sports "in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student's records," the bylaw states. Dhillon, a former California-based conservative attorney, said the certifications she is seeking from the public school districts will "ensure compliance" with Title IX and help them to "avoid legal liability." California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement the lawsuit was filed "in anticipation of imminent legal retaliation against California's school systems" failing to adhere to Dhillon's demand, according to the Los Angeles Times. "The President and his Administration are demanding that California school districts break the law and violate the Constitution — or face legal retaliation. They're demanding that our schools discriminate against the students in their care and deny their constitutionally protected rights," Bonta wrote. "As we've proven time and again in court, just because the President disagrees with a law, that doesn't make it any less of one." The Justice Department had no immediate comment on the lawsuit. The DOJ previously filed a lawsuit against Maine after the state repeatedly thumbed its nose at President Donald Trump's executive order to keep males out of girls' and women's sports. The Justice Department accused Maine of "openly and defiantly flouting federal anti-discrimination law by enforcing policies that require girls to compete against boys in athletic competitions designated exclusively for girls." The latest chapter in California between the state and the Trump administration came days after transgender athlete AB Hernandez won state championships in the girls' division. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.


USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
5 Jaire Alexander NFL landing spots, including the Eagles
5 Jaire Alexander NFL landing spots, including the Eagles The Green Bay Packers made the surprising decision to release star cornerback Jaire Alexander on Monday, ending his seven-season tenure in Titletown. Alexander is one of the league's best corners when he's healthy, but his durability has been a real concern over the last few seasons. He's averaged seven games in the regular season in the last two years, which may give some teams pause on signing him to anything but a one-year deal. However, for teams with a need at the position, players like Alexander don't always come available this time of year, even if they have injury concerns. In the right situation, he can still play at a high level, even if you can't necessarily depend on him for a full season at this point. Let's run through five teams that would make sense for Alexander in his free agency. Atlanta Falcons The Falcons could use Alexander as a high-end second cornerback on the roster to play next to A.J. Terrell, and he has connections to former Packers secondary coaches Jerry Gray and Justin Hood in Flowery Branch. Atlanta has cornerback Mike Hughes at the ready if injury strikes, as Alexander gives the team as high a ceiling as it has had at its second cornerback position in quite some time. Arizona Cardinals The Cardinals could always add more competition to the cornerback room, and we feel Alexander could easily win the second cornerback spot next to Will Johnson. Honestly, Alexander could be the best cornerback on the roster by the time training camp finishes if he signed with Arizona. This could be a good fit. Buffalo Bills The Bills reportedly had talked with the Packers about trading for Alexander at some point before his release, so Buffalo is a logical destination. Alexander wouldn't be guaranteed a starting job necessarily with 2025 NFL Draft first rounder Maxwell Hairston on the roster, but he would absolutely factor into the competition. Miami Dolphins If Alexander wants to go to a team where he has coaching familiarity and a clear path to a starting job, Miami might be his best destination on this list. Former Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry is a linebackers coach and run game coordinator with the Dolphins, and Miami has cornerback Jalen Ramsey on the trade block. Alexander could reasonably lock down the top spot on the cornerback depth chart in Miami. Philadelphia Eagles The Eagles have a clear path for Alexander to win the starting cornerback job opposite of Quinyon Mitchell, and signing with Philadelphia gives him the best chance of any team on this list to play for a Super Bowl. That Philly secondary would be absolutely ferocious if Alexander joined, and we wouldn't be shocked if he ultimately signed with the Eagles at the end of all of this. Also, Philadelphia passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach Christian Parker was a defensive assistant for a time in Green Bay with Alexander.