Fremantle Dockers star Murphy Reid discusses midfield move, his ball use and amazing debut ahead of AFL season

Highly motivated Fremantle star Murphy Reid has declared he wants to be known as a player who never wastes a possession and consistently makes his teammates better after a stunning first season where he won the AFL Rising Star award. Reid had an amazing debut season which included four goals in one quarter during his debut against Geelong. He finished the season with 25 goals and 21 goal assists, and his creativity transformed the way the Dockers played. The Dockers’ excitement machine played as a pure midfielder during Fremantle’s intraclub game in Bunbury on Friday and his ball use made him an unstoppable force. He had a game-high 31 disposals and won numerous clearances, but it was his ability to put teammates into space or find a target inside 50 which stood out. The teenager told The West Australian that he’d always understood the value of every possession . “If you get the hands in the ball, it’s always a good thing, so don’t waste your touches. Try not to do too much with the ball when you’ve got it - the old man drilled that in me,” Reid explained. “I’d be lying if I say didn’t love a goal. But I do love bringing my teammates into the game and putting them in better positions. I’ve always had that motto growing up to don’t waste the football when I’ve got it in my hand. I love kicking to the JT and Jye and Vossy. They’re pretty big and nice targets to kick to. And they looked after me by getting me a couple of assists last year.” All eyes will be on Reid when the Dockers play against West Coast during a pre-season game on Saturday morning. Caleb Serong, Luke Jackson, Shai Bolton and Jaeger O’Meara will all return to the midfield after playing in AFL Origin on Saturday, but Reid’s performance will demand more opportunities in the centre square. He said his summer had been spent trying to fast track his development and learn from the club’s star onballers so he has the best chance to break into the midfield. “We’ve got a pretty stacked lineup. Look at the names that are running around in there,” he said. “It’s awesome to play with them at training and play on them at training. Like Andy, Caleb, Dogga this year and Youngy. I’ve learned so much. They’re all bigger bodies as well, especially Dogga and Youngy and like Matthew Johnson is tough. “I like to work with Caleb and see what he does with his craft to use his size to his advantage and learn to play play against those taller guys. I’ve learned heaps over the postseason. It’s been, been great to have some exposure in there.” Reid has impressed teammates, coaches and staff with his dedicated approach to the pre-season. He was inspired by watching close friend and former under 18s teammate Levi Ashcroft win a premiership with Brisbane, and returned to the pre-season training in superb condition. Reid knows there will be plenty of attention on him this season, but is more focused on what he can achieve in the future than what he did in 2025. He reflects on his incredible debut in a dramatically different way to most people. “It was a good couple minutes, but straight away in my team review and my individual review, my coaches kept me grounded and we hardly even spoke about it. We obviously celebrated that, but we got beaten by 70 points,” he said. “It was sort of good in a way that we got pumped, so it wasn’t really talked about inside the four walls.. That day was my first game of AFL footy, but it was pretty shit. “There is some stuff that I’m still working on, like with my defence. But I try to not put any pressure on myself. It was a good year for me last year, but I was very lucky to be surrounded by a lot of people that backed me in and supported me. “I’m just really excited attack the next couple of weeks and the lead in to round one. It’s my dream job and I’ve been doing the most that I can to get the most out of myself.”