WE HEAR so much about Harley Reid.

As one of the competition's most exciting young players and the most hyped AFL draftee ever, Reid's career is closely tracked. Every fend-off, every kick, every tackle, every goal, every wrestle, every cheeky smirk, every back page.

But we don't hear much from Harley Reid. That has been by design.

"The way I want to express myself is just doing it on the field. In a way, I don't want to say how good or bad I am, I want to show it in my actions, and then you guys can get your own thoughts and opinions," Reid told AFL.com.au in an exclusive interview.

"I continue to tell myself that I'm never going to be the finished product. So keep developing, keep getting better and keep getting those steps in to become the best footballer."

Those steps are obvious to anyone who has watched West Coast this year, with Reid likely leading the Eagles' best and fairest, being their best player at 21 and in the top 20 for coaches votes AFL-wide.

The steps also include the confidence to tell his story in detail on so many fronts: the work he's doing on himself, how he's developing his discipline, the decision to re-sign at the Eagles, his grand ambitions for the future, his settling into Perth, buying a house, doing renovations and passing the No.1 pick baton over to Willem Duursma. In short, the growing up of Harley.

Reid last week celebrated his 50th AFL game in Scott Pendlebury's record-breaking 433rd game in the only way Reid can – with a shuddering fend-off of Pendlebury in the opening seconds that floored the Collingwood champion. Reid later ran off the ground grinning and asked coach Andrew McQualter on the bench: "Did you see me, did you see me?"

This year he is fitter, stronger, faster and more consistent. In each of the Eagles' three wins, he has been best afield.

"I've tried to be a leader across the group and grow into that role to be a better version of myself and be better for the team," he said. "I've got a great understanding of myself now, and my body, and what works best for me and how I can prepare for what's ahead.

"Someone said to me when you lead into a week and know who you're playing on, try to do something that they probably didn't do that's going to make me one per cent better, because I've done it and they haven't."

That has included regular boxing sessions during the season, extra power movements with the Eagles' strength and conditioning staff, working on his touch in the club's 'shed' with development boss Jamie Maddocks and even simply being more organised with his schedule.

It's an approach that started back in October when, after an up-and-down second season, Reid returned to Perth a month before the full Eagles squad had to be back to get himself fitter than before. He ran with Reuben Ginbey, Jack Graham and others. Then did it again and again.

"With people like that, they want you to get better and they want to see you succeed. To come back early and to have them send me a message when I probably didn't really want to get out of bed, like 'Come on, where are you? Let's go'. You need those people and I really respect that," he said.

"It was just about flipping that mindset so that every chance you get to do these things is a chance to get better. It's the mentality that these are the next steps to hopefully one day be the best footballer in the AFL.

"That's the end goal. I want to set little things to be able to perform consistently to hopefully get there one day. I love going up against the big dogs that currently get that listed to their name. There's an edge in me to be like 'Let's go, I want to show I'm better'.

"I don't really like talking too much about myself, but obviously at the end of the day I want people to be able to look at me and be [saying] that for sure."

Part of the growth has been finding ways to keep his concentration in-game. Criticism has come Reid's way across his career for the scuffles, wrestles and ill-disciplined moments that have led to free kicks and 50-metre penalties. A sling tackle in 2024 that saw him suspended cost him the Rising Star award that year, and he's been cited five times by the Match Review Officer for wrestling.

Reid's power and strength have always been a part of his game, but he has tried to rewire those emotions, with the help of West Coast's new psychologist Jodii Maguire.

"I've done a lot of work with Jodii and she's been great to be able to wire my brain to be able to think different and not use aggressiveness and those emotions," he said.

"The answer to it is going back to 12-year-old Harley and staying present and just to think about how fun footy is. Another thing was treat the umpires like you treat your coach. I do find at times I do get umpired differently and it is frustrating and I do find the inconsistency with calls… but [I am taking the approach] to treat them like you would with your coaches.

"The fire in the belly at the moment does sometimes get out of control, and I have to try to control those emotions, but hopefully they're seeing that I'm getting a bit better at that. I'm trying to."

It comes from a place of care. His teammates know it. Eagles fans can see how desperate he is for his team to be competitive every week, as soon as possible. And McQualter knows his No.9 wants to win and is doing everything he can to drag his team there. It's why the second-year coach has consistently stuck up for Reid when asked in public about those moments, while still challenging him to improve behind the scenes.

"He's someone who has gone into bat for me. He'll do anything for me and so would I for him. He's crucial in my journey," Reid said.

"Before each game he gives me my three words that I try to bleed through myself to be able to stay present and in the moment. They are 'hunt', 'discipline' and 'instinct'. It's about just playing on instinct, making sure you're working hard but when the talent's there to shine don't hold back, and then 'hunt' is just to get after it, play your role, utilise the ball, nothing too flashy and first gives. 'Discipline' is just staying in the moment and staying focused."

The pair have a good bond. McQualter is the youngest coach in the AFL and gets on well with his youthful group and, during Reid's takedown of Greater Western Sydney two weeks ago, teammate Elliot Yeo was on the bench near McQualter. "'Yeoey' was complaining about an umpire call and 'Mini' was like 'Harley, shut up!' I was like 'Mate, it wasn't even me! We had a fair few gags on the bench, we quite enjoyed it."

Reid knows opponents have tried to bait him.

"It's part of it. You try do it yourself," he said.

"One of the all-timers, it's quite funny actually… in the off-season I caught up for a beer with Tom Lynch with 'Bakes' (Eagles co-captain Liam Baker) and Jack Graham. We'd played Richmond at the 'G last year and 'Lynchy' hit me with 'I know that rumour about you is true, Bakes told me'.

"It was on my mind for probably about a quarter. We go in at half-time and I said to Bakes 'What did you say? What do you mean?' and Bakes said 'Bro, he's just playing with you, come on!'

"'Woosha' (Eagles football boss and former champion John Worsfold) told me about what he used to do back in the day, and I'm sitting there like 'Ha, that's me being on the end of it'. It was actually quite funny. Credit to Lynchy, he got me good." 

The first half of this season has seen some engaging battles involving Reid. There was his domination of North Melbourne in round two, when he reached the 30-disposal mark for the first time in his career and was also involved in a three-quarter time melee after being struck by Charlie Comben. "I was a bit stiff there," he said.

There was the tight tag from Swans stopper James Jordon, who clamped him down for his lowest disposal tally of the season (17). He is working on ways to get into the game when he gets the same attention from others, with West Coast also devising more ways to help Reid in those situations. That loss was capped by being leapt over for a big hanger from Isaac Heeney.

"To be fair, if anyone's taking a hanger on me, I'm happy for it to be Heeney," Reid said. "I knew it was coming. I was a little bit flat, but I just had to look at him and laugh. He poked his tongue out and gave me a little cheeky smile."

And there was the toe-to-toe with Power dynamo Zak Butters in round three, with the pair both revelling in the physical battle as the Eagles held on by two points at Adelaide Oval. Reid had 21 disposals and two goals and stepped up in some big moments – as well as making a sneaky pitch to the out-of-contract star.

"He's a hard nut and someone you look at and you're like 'Oh, I want to play with you'. I really enjoyed that game. Those match-ups are something that you do really love and both players want to put their head over it and go hard," Reid said.

"I reckon I even dropped a hint to him like 'Stuff it, just tease them and come to Perth instead, come play with me'."

Last year Reid was going through a similar decision as the in-demand Butters. Although he had a year to run on his contract at the Eagles, he was the subject of record-breaking offers to return home to Victoria.

Hawthorn tabled an 11-year offer worth close to $18 million to join them. St Kilda had 12 years and more money available. Geelong, Essendon, Melbourne and Carlton also went hard. In late August, two days after the Eagles' last game of the season, Reid re-signed for two more years to stay at the club until the end of 2028.

"I really do believe in what's growing here and the boys have been exceptional," he said.

"The group we have I see the massive step from last year. Don't get me wrong, last year was bloody hard and mentally I felt unstable at times and things didn't go to plan.

"Looking at it now I'm glad I did it and I'm glad I am where I am. Hopefully now I can continue to keep growing and hopefully we can get some wins, because that's all I really want to do – win games of footy and soak it all in and keep gaining that success on the field."

The temptation from rivals with enormous deals was real, with West Coast also tabling its own club record offers.

"It's pretty ridiculous with what got thrown my way. I needed to mature as a footballer, I felt, to be able to make the right decision and reach my full potential to be where right now I can keep growing. It's difficult, it was a very tough decision on what to do, but I do feel like I'm a pretty loyal person," Reid said.

Reid's stability has been boosted in Perth by finding a home. He bought new house last year and has friends living with him, including Duursma. There's a pool out the back, a fire pit and a shed "for all me toys". They built a man cave, too.

On the walls inside there are some footy jumpers – one of Reid's West Coast guernseys, a LeBron James jersey, two Tongala jumpers as a tribute to two mates from home who he lost in a plane crash, and a match-worn Liam Baker No.7 Richmond jumper signed by his now skipper.

"It's a good one. I'm trying to claim it was the Granny that he won but it doesn't say Grand Final on it," he said.

Reid has his housemates on duties – cleaning, cooking and maintenance – and wants his house to be tidy when they get home. Duursma, the youngest of four siblings, is learning.

"He's grown a lot. I was basically tucking him into bed day one. He cooked a 'spag bol' one night and the meat tasted like meat pie. He just smacked heaps of beef stock in there we reckon. It was so funny. Don't get me wrong, it tasted good, but dunno how healthy it was."

Reid is one of football's most recognisable and marketable players and the headline act of West Coast's hope. That comes with attention, which he has known since he was 16. He still wears a hoodie over his head when he goes to the shops to get some reprieve in public, while he's added tinted windows to his ute to find some privacy as well.

But seeing Duursma step into the No.1 pick spotlight has made Reid think about his own path since joining the Eagles at the end of 2023 and some of the loneliness that came with the move. Having dominated the back page of The West Australian for the start of his AFL career, Reid sometimes thinks Duursma's not getting quite enough attention, either.

"I'm still finding my way on the paper pretty frequently, which is quite funny, but I get into him because I say 'You're never on it, mate. What's the go? Nothing about ya…'," Reid said with a laugh.

"I'm grateful to be able to help his journey be a bit smoother and make him feel comfortable in the environment he's in. I do look back at it and be like, 'What would 18-year-old me do?' and what it felt like at that time. I went through a period where I lived on my own for a year and a half. I learned a lot through that stage.

"I quite enjoyed the independent life at times, but then again it did get tough when you've got a lot of things boiling up and you're kind of on your own, in a way. It's held me in good stead now,  being able to live with 'Worm' (Duursma) and help him hopefully reach his potential."

It's all part of the Reid evolution – one which is happening in front of thousands every week but also out of sight.

"I've been introduced to AFL footy now for 50 games and I've been in the system for three years. I've been able to experience a lot of ups, a lot of downs, coaches and players gone by," Reid said.

"I've been able to take it all in and lead the younger group that's coming through, as well as being a third-year and young player in our team. I do personally feel that I have matured and that's what I wanted to see in my footy."