West Coast admit they need more help for their star Harley Reid – and triple premiership Tiger Jack Riewoldt believes he’s found the “perfect mentor” for the No.1 pick.

Two-time premiership Lion Lachie Neale’s contract at Brisbane is up at the end of this season, and with personal ties to WA Riewoldt believes Neale could be the man for the Reid job.

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“(Neale) has got a huge decision at the end of the year on what he does coming out of contract and with everything that’s going on in his personal life,” Riewoldt said on Fox Footy’s On the Couch.

“I wonder whether Lachie Neale is the perfect mentor for Harley Reid because that’s exactly what Harley needed and the West Coast needed on the weekend.

Lachie Neale is out of contract at the end of 2026.Source: Getty Images

“I think that Lachie Neale could be the perfect running mate. The perfect man to teach (Reid) how to train.”

The Eagles were belted by Sydney on Saturday night in a 128-point defeat where Reid was heavily tagged by Swan James Jordon and had limited involvement until his final quarter shift into defence.

Eagles coach Andrew McQualter then summed it up best in just five words post-game: “We didn’t help Harley enough”.

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“They haven’t had a player tagged at their football club for such a long time,” Riewoldt said.

“James Jordon went to Harley Reid and did an absolute number on him. In the first quarter, not one West Coast player laid a hand on James Jordon so Harley’s out there fighting by himself.

“I wonder if the timing is now to pull the trigger and try and entice a senior statesman to the West Coast Eagles Football Club to make sure they get the best out of Harley Reid, their generational talent.”

When fellow Couch panellist Nathan Buckley questioned where the likes of teammates Tim Kelly, Jack Graham and Liam Baker were when Reid needed someone to step in and help, Riewoldt said West Coast were crying out for an “absolute bona fide star midfielder”.

“Lachie Neale is there to get. He is there to get at the end of the year – granted he’s going to be a lot older than what you’d love to get him at,” Riewoldt explained.

Swans crush Eagles by 128 points | 02:53

“It’s a perfect time to bring him back (to WA) and go ‘Hey! Why don’t you come back and teach the next generation of superstar?’

“What we saw on the weekend, Harley Reid has been thrust into this leadership role. He’s under the spotlight.”

Reid finished Saturday night’s 128-point loss as the 44th ranked player on the ground – at a time where West Coast’s latest No.1 pick Willem Duursma was ranked 7th.

But Buckley believes it’s part of the learning process for Reid and the Eagles.

“(Reid) is a different cat … You’ve just got to continue to work with him,” he said.

“It’s pretty hard when your team is down 100 points – all the focus still goes to Harley Reid. When your team wins, the focus goes to Harley Reid so he’s going to have to naturally deal with that as he goes along.

“He’s in his third year! I think his start to the season has been pretty strong.

“We’ve just got to pump the breaks and give him a bit of time.

“The better the team goes, the better he’s going to go.”

Andrew McQualter goes to star Harley Reid at the break.Source: Getty Images

McQualter has previously conceded he’d be “open” to a play for Neale should the ex-Lions skipper want to return to WA.

“Lachie’s had an incredible career. He’s an incredible player. So I think that we’re always on the lookout for players that will help our team,” McQualter told afl.com.au back in February.

“We’ll stay open to that.”

The man himself failed to commit to the Lions beyond this season when speaking at a press conference back in January at a time his personal life was making national headlines.

“Yeah, I’m going to be here for this season coming up and I’m fully committed to putting everything I can into footy and I can’t wait to get into training and I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has also stated he wouldn’t keep Neale in Queensland should the star wish to be closer to his children who are currently based in WA.

Lachie Neale speaks to media back in January.Source: Supplied Source Known

“We’re not going to hold anyone to ransom,” he said at the time.

“(Neale) can make a call on what he needs to do. He probably needs the next six or seven months to see what the next right step is.”

Just last month, Fox Footy’s Jon Ralph said he believes Neale does want to stay at the Lions, but that it would be a “juggling act” for the two-time Brownlow Medallist.