West Coast Eagles set to re-start contract talks with Harley Reid when new coach is appointed

West Coast hope to restart negotiations with young gun Harley Reid, who has two years left on his contract, following a spectacular first season in blue and gold. Eagles chief executive Don Pyke said the club will start conversations with the former No.1 pick as soon as a new coach is appointed. “As much as he’s been a revelation across the game this year, and everyone should be really excited about it, what he has achieved as a first-year is fantastic and the growth in him will only be upwards,” Pyke told ABC Radio. “In terms of contract, we are in conversations and respect the situation where he is going into his first real pre-season and we are without a coach at the moment. “We need to get a coach on board, who can start talking to Harley and we will pick the conversations from there I would imagine in the New Year.” Pyke said former CEO Trevor Nisbett’s new role as an adviser to the AFL on competitive balance and distribution models could only help clubs outside Victoria. “I think this has been a sign of Andrew Dillon and his leadership since taking over. They had the CEO’s meeting over here this year for the first time ever,” he said. “They are signs. And I think Andrew’s appointment of Trevor has opened up for actually let’s get some differing views here and understand that this is a national game and someone like Trevor with his experience and knowledge of some of the challenges around competitive balance and distribution models and those sorts of things. “We’ve been doing some work alongside (Fremantle CEO) Simon (Garlick) about the inequity (of travel and the fixture) and until you actually put it on the table and go ‘here’s the numbers’, I mean Fremantle and West Coast will travel 55,000km in a season and the difference is the Bulldogs or Carlton might travel 13,000km,” Pyke said. “Until you actually put it in front of the they don’t actually appreciate the starkness of the difference about what is clearly inequitable across the comp.” Pyke said recruiting agency Gerard Daniels was scouring the country for coaching candidates with Geelong assistant Steven King, Brisbane head of football Danny Daly and Port Adelaide’s Brendon Lade the early favourites, but there had not yet been any presentations from candidates. “We are just doing our DD (due diligence) and reaching out to people to find their level of interest-why and that is the work that is being done by Gerard Daniels,” he said. “We have to be respectful of the clubs that are involved (in finals), they have a unique opportunity which eight teams get every year. “We are respectful of that but are still able to progress things on the time line we are working. “Things are moving on. If you are a fan or a member be assured we are not sitting on our hands and we are still working towards the timeline that we have previously said. “We are in the market for a head of development. But our senior coach is our No. 1 priority and we will get through it as quickly as we can and we are mindful the trade period is coming up and then the draft. Some of the trade work and potential talent we will like to give them some certainty about who is going to be the senior coach as soon as we can.”