West Coast boss Don Pyke breaks down remembering ‘emotional' victory after Adam Selwood's death
West Coast CEO Don Pyke fought back tears speaking about the Eagles' emotion-charged victory in the wake of the tragic death of premiership player Adam Selwood.
The Eagles upset St Kilda last month at Optus Stadium for their only victory of the season. It came just 24 hours after the AFL world were shattered by the death of Selwood.
Adam Selwood's death came just a few months after twin brother Troy also died.
In an exclusive interview with 7NEWS Perth's Ryan Daniels, Pyke broke down when asked about his feeling when the siren went after the Saints match.
'I'm getting emotional ... I was just proud of the footy club,' he said through tears.
'It wasn't easy. It wasn't easy for the staff in particular, they were close to Adam and the players were probably more upset because the staff were upset.
'A lot of them didn't know Adam, they didn't know his reputation and his involvement across the club but they sensed that it was a sad day for the club.
'When the siren went it was quite interesting, I sort of sat back and thought 'how are we going to deal with this?' and I thought the players showed real maturity.
'They won their first game for the year, you'd expect they'd be jumping around, they'd be all over but they were sort of this subdued nature to this.
'It was a great win but it was a sad win. But it showed to me how great footy clubs are because everyone came together, all the planets align and we win a game of footy off the back of what was an incredibly sad weekend for the club.
'It was sort of this muted celebration of a win.
'I felt great for Andrew (McQualter), first win as an AFL coach at our club was fantastic, but off the back of the circumstances was interesting.
'Very mixed emotions for the whole day.
Meanwhile, Pyke has provided an update on contract negotiations with boom superstar Harley Reid.
Reid remains contracted to the club until the end of 2026 on his initial three-year deal with the club.
But there is constant speculation surrounding his future with every Victorian club reportedly in the hunt for the 20-year-old.
7NEWS Perth's Ryan Daniels has previously reported there are three, five and seven-year deals on the table for Ried that would be the most lucrative deal in Eagles history.
The offer is expected to be worth close to $2 million a season.
Pyke said they are still waiting for Reid to make a decision.
'We've been in communication with him and his management,' Pyke told 7NEWS Perth.
'I keep saying to him, Harley is a 20-year-old second-year player, I appreciate that it's unique and we recognise that as a No.1 pick, I don't think any of us have seen a player hit the scene as strong as he did and he performed through the roof last year.
'As much as we'd love to get him re-signed and we're certainly in those conversations with him but you don't tie him down and say 'sign here, sign here'.
'He'll make his decision when he wants to. He's enjoying his time here and as much as everyone would be desperate for us to sign him, it'll take the time it takes.'
Pyke insists he isn't nervous about the situation.
'That's assuming he actually knows what he wants,' Pyke said when asked if Reid really wanted to say he'd just sign.
'He might go 'well I want a 10-year deal' ... we've had the conversation, what is it you want right now and how does this contract offer look for you, and bits and pieces.
'I don't know and hopefully it gets to the point where he wants to make a decision soon and then we'll deal with that.'
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