Ryan Daniels: Murphy Reid contract will permit younger star to blossom below much less strain | USAEMALL.com

Stop the presses! Rewrite the back page — no, the front page!

After months of speculation and “will he or won’t he” — it’s sealed.

The young Reid boy, the long-haired, prodigiously talented Victorian has put pen to paper, the deal is done! Locked in til 2029!

The parade is planned for next Tuesday, only, not through Lathlain, but down the cappuccino strip.

Yes, Murphy Reid has committed to the Dockers.

This kid’s so skilful, I’m tipping he used a sharp rock to sign the contract, but made it look like a fountain pen.

The other Reid, Harley, is completely entitled to take his time with his own contract. But Murphy has removed the doubt — if there was any — and can now get on with it.

There’s immense value in that for both club and player. No noise, no uncertainty. Just back to work.

Murphy Reid’s been a sensation in his first year. The only player Justin Longmuir has debuted in round one the year after being drafted.

Adding a layer to that, in his 14 games so far, Reid’s never started or finished as sub. Talent doesn’t earn you that — impact does.

A midfielder coming into the draft, he’s learned a new role as a forward and made it look second nature.

He’s kicked 16 goals and added ten goal assists for the year, the same number as Jason Horne-Francis, Jeremy Cameron, Zac Bailey and more than Bailey Smith, Shai Bolton and Gryan Miers.

Reid currently sits third in line for the Rising Star and you could argue he should be higher. Four goals in four minutes on debut in Geelong was the lone highlight for the Dockers in a dirty day. That doesn’t happen if you’re not up to it.

Wait ‘til he completely figures it out. Some will tell you: “past performance is not a reliable indicator of future success.”

But Murphy Reid isn’t a super fund. This kid is a sure thing.

Here’s what I wrote during the pre-season:“Fremantle have one here. When you watch this guy train or play, you see things that make you raise the eyebrows.

“The little deft touches to a teammate’s advantage, the time and space he finds in congestion – dare I say it, Mundy-like. He uses the ball exquisitely, seeing players you didn’t know were there.

“He’s young, needs a few more pre-seasons, is about 20 per cent of the finished product – but this kid won’t be overwhelmed.”

Gee it’s nice to be right every now and then!

The Dockers have plenty of talent locked in long-term, but this signature might be the most important of all. Reid is part of the next next generation of Fremantle. He’s an 18-year-old from Melbourne, who still had two more seasons to figure out if the Dockers was home for him, but he signed anyway.

Don’t for a second think clubs hadn’t already started sussing out if this guy would get homesick in 12 months. Murphy Reid could’ve started his own bidding war if he wanted.

Nope.

The signs of love were there early. After Murphy called his parents to tell them of his impending debut back in March, his dad Marcus spoke highly of Fremantle’s approach: “Kudos to them, what a club! So good. To back you in and look after you like they (have). Mum and I couldn’t be happier.”

It says a lot about how far Fremantle have come. Under the current regime, they haven’t lost many they wanted to keep.

Lloyd Meek might be the exception, but as it stands, Freo already have too many ruckmen.

If you cast your mind back to the dramatic exodus stories post-2020, the departures of Meek, Griffin Logue, Blake Acres, Liam Henry, Rory Lobb, Darcy Tucker, and Lachie Schulz, things appeared concerning on the surface. But really, while immediate depth was tested, none of those losses has harmed the Dockers current trajectory.

In the same timeframe they’ve signed Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong, Hayden Young and Josh Treacy to long term deals, all Victorian-born kids.

The big fish have been brought home — Jordan Clark, Luke Jackson, Shai Bolton. Marquee players on the market who all chose the Dockers.

The crafty signings of guys like Corey Wagner, Jaeger O’Meara, Jeremy Sharp, Isaiah Dudley, Pat Voss and the drafting of Cooper Simpson, Karl Worner and Reid, among others, has replaced that previous depth, only with a higher ceiling.

The signature of Reid is a by-product of all that.

The Dockers aren’t a finished product, far from it. They might not even play finals this season.

But they’re young, they’re talented, they’re committed and that translates to buy-in.

Murphy Reid can see it. He can feel it.

He believes, so he belongs — he commits.