Saints great labels Reid clear Rising Star favourite
St Kilda great Leigh Montagna says Fremantle's first-year sensation Murphy Reid should be the clear favourite for this year's Rising Star Award after another classy performance against Port Adelaide.
Reid kicked four pivotal goals and collected 18 disposals as the Dockers disposed of the Power in the heavy rain at Optus Stadium on Saturday night, earning the 18-year-old his first haul of coaches votes with seven.
The young gun slipped to pick 17 in last year's national draft, and Reid wasted no time making a number of recruiters regret their decision to pass over the talented Victorian.
He booted an incredible four goals in six minutes on debut against the Cats in Geelong and, according to Champion Data, is No.1 for scoreboard impact, goals, and score assists while rating second for score involvements among all first and second-year AFL players.
He earned his Rising Star nomination in round six for collecting 17 disposals and kicking a goal against Melbourne at the MCG.
Speaking on Fox Footy, Montagna was full of praise for Reid.
'It was a great performance from Murphy Reid with the four goals, 18 disposals in the wet,' he said.
'When they say the class prevails and the talent really shines, this guy stood out like a beacon. He was able to kick four goals already the second time in his career.
'It's a very small group (who have achieved that in their first season). This is a pretty special player and for me, I think he should be the Rising Star favourite.
'Levi Ashcroft is having a great year, but I don't think he's impacting his Brisbane Lions like Murphy Reid is doing on this team.'
Reid was adjudged the second-best player on the ground on Saturday in the AFL Coaches Association's player of the year award, behind only ruckman Luke Jackson, and told The West Australian the win showed the Dockers were beginning to 'mature'.
'We've felt we've competed well the last couple of weeks, and it was good to get a bit of recognition last week with a win on the board,' he told The West Australian.
'And we knew Port were going to come out hot as they did after a bit of a disappointing week, and it was great to win.
'It goes to show how mature we are as a side. They threw everything at us as we prepared for going into the game. Logan Evans of the Power closely marks Murphy Reid of the Dockers. Credit: Daniel Carson / AFL Photos
'They normally drive off a bit of emotion, and they came out ready to fire, and we feel like we took a couple of those punches and really made the most of our opportunities when we went forward.
'We're just just trying to stick to the game plan. It probably hasn't come off as much as we would have liked in the earlier weeks, but it's the same game plan we've had the whole year, and we're just loving playing in these big games.'
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