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Johnson had attempted to wrap his arms around Reid at the stoppage when the No.1 pick appeared to throw his elbow back, making contact with the Docker\u2019s stomach.<\/p>\n
Johnson reportedly \u201cscreamed out in pain\u201d before immediately dropping to the turf, and was paid the free kick.<\/p>\n
When asked if Reid would be in MRO trouble, premiership Eagle Will Schofield told Fox Footy post-match: \u201cThere\u2019s two parts to this answer. Yes I think he\u2019ll be in trouble with the MRO. Do I think he should be? No I don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
The moment before contact was made with Matt Johnson.Source: FOX SPORTSHarley Reid is set to come under MRO scrutiny for this elbow on Matt Johnson.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty mild contact, it\u2019s a glancing blow, very low impact. It probably gets him in a good spot, in the right spot. The AFL doesn\u2019t want to see this in the game, but I think it\u2019s play on to be honest.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I do expect it to be looked at.\u201d<\/p>\n
The moment capped off a frustrating night for Reid, who had been the Eagles\u2019 best with a game-high 12 clearances and 30 disposals \u2013 15 of those contested.<\/p>\n
The Eagle had coughed up two free kicks in the opening term \u2013 both for off-ball moments, with the first leading directly to Fremantle\u2019s first goal of the night.<\/p>\n
West Coast assistants were seen speaking specifically with Reid at quarter time, after the youngster had confronted an umpire heading into the first break.<\/p>\n
He ended up conceding four free kicks in total \u2013 while appearing to miss out on a few his own way.<\/p>\n
Harley Reid coughed up four free kicks in the loss to the Dockers.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Coach Andrew McQualter wouldn\u2019t be drawn into commenting on the Johnson contact, but said he supported his 20-year-old star.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t looked back at the incident \u2013 I saw it happen live, the free kick (to Johnson),\u201d he shared.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be what it will be.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Reid) was our best ball winner.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he had 12 clearances, 15 contested \u2013 almost double any one else in our team so I love the way he went about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a few challenges throughout the night as well. We\u2019ll keep supporting him and working with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked what the conversation was with Reid at quarter time, McQualter replied: \u201cWe spoke to him about solutions\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just refocused him. I thought he did that well after quarter time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Reid remains the most penalised player in the AFL in 2026, conceding 54 free kicks heading into the Friday night Derby.<\/p>\n
He then added four more to that tally.<\/p>\n
McQualter confirmed the club would approach the AFL over Reid\u2019s treatment by umpires \u2013 if they found an \u201cinconsistency\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will definitely look closely at it and look to get some clarity if we think there\u2019s some inconsistency with the way Harley is being treated,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Harley Reid was not awarded a high contact free kick in this tackle from Shai Bolton.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll work with the AFL. We\u2019ll go look at the tape \u2013 if we think there\u2019s something there that\u2019s worth asking, we\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Four-time premiership winner Jordan Lewis said there was a moment during West Coast\u2019s loss that the umpire \u201cneeds to have a good look at\u201d, with Reid not awarded a high tackle free kick against Shai Bolton.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Harley Reid lays that tackle, it\u2019s against him you can guarantee that,\u201d Dwayne Russell said in commentary. <\/p>\n
But the incident with Johnson is the one that will draw the AFL\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they\u2019ll look at it the same as a stomach punch \u2013 I really do,\u201d Lewis said of the elbow.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn and around the contest, it\u2019s one of those ones you don\u2019t want to see in our game.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"West Coast star Harley Reid is set to sweat on the AFL\u2019s Match Review after an incident that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":821220,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-821219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=821219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/821220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=821219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=821219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=821219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}