AFL 2025: West Coast Eagles increasingly confident of Harley Reid's long-term future
Reid's future has been a prevalent AFL topic since he was drafted and it heightened during the week after St Kilda reportedly offered the Victorian $25m.
The rising star is out of contract at the end of 2026, but McQualter says Reid's actions indicate a player invested 'for a long time'.
'I am really confident Harley will be here, he's really invested,' McQualter said.
'I've spoken about this all along, every day Harley turns up to work he's incredibly invested in this team and this club.
'I'm really optimistic that Harley will be here, I love working with him and hopeful I'll work with him for a long time to come.
'I'm talking for a long time, all I can judge it on is his behaviours that he comes with every day at the football club.
'The young man is really invested, he's working hard to make us become better, make himself better, he cares about the group, cares about the club.
'They're signs to me that he's really invested.'
The Eagles, however, appear likely to lose co-captain Oscar Allen.
McQualter was questioned about Allen immediately after Reid, and the tone and clarity around the dynamic forward was noticeably different.
Allen met with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell earlier in the season but has since been linked to joining reigning premier Brisbane to fill the void of Joe Daniher.
'We speak to Oscar regularly, we're in contact working with Oscar's management, we're still not clear where it'll be,' McQualter said.
'We're working really hard to make Oscar a player here for a long time.
'It's not even about the co-captain being here or not; the job of a coach is two eyes on the present and one eye on the future.
'I don't know how many eyes you've got, but you've somehow got to do that as a coach and list manager, that's the job. You have to be able to forecast but live in the present as well.'
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