Player Watch #20 Sam Reid

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Sam Reid

Sam Reid’s outstanding athleticism and strong contested grab make him a genuine threat inside 50. The 2012 premiership forward showed exactly that when he booted six goals in the Sydney Swans’ clash with Collingwood in Mark Grook at the SCG to win the 2019 Goodes-O’Loughlin Medal. The 2009 draftee can also play as a loose man in defence or pinch-hit in the ruck. Reid has had very little luck on the injury front in his time in red and white, but he didn’t miss an AFL match in 2019. He’s played 143 career games at the top level for a return of 154 goals.

Sam Reid
DOB: 27 December 1991
DEBUT: 2010
DRAFT: #38, 2009 National Draft
RECRUITED FROM: Wangaratta Rovers (Vic)/Murray U18

 

RubbaDuck

All Australian
Mar 6, 2022
712
2,224
AFL Club
Sydney
I can only speculate as to where Reid will be deployed this year. My expectation is he'll be used as a spare tall, filling gaps at either end or in the ruck as required. His experience allows him to cover a number of roles, usually as a forward or ruck but also getting back to plug up our defence when needed.

Coming into the 2022 season Reid had been training in defence, before Horse opted to trial Paddy McCartin in the role. Had he been available when Paddy and Tommy (and Rampe) went down last year I have no doubt we'd have used Reid to help plug our defence.

It seems pretty fortuitous for our club to have such a handy spare. If we have injuries this year and Reid is fit to fill in, he may be the difference that keeps us competitive.

Given how close some of our losses were in 2023 I think it's fair to say we might have pocketed 3 or 4 more wins last year if Reid had been available to fill key roles as required, perhaps enough to mean finishing as high as top four, rather than scraping into the finals.

Reid might also have allowed us to rest talls who might have benefitted from being managed. Instead we came into the finals on the back of a long and desperate slog to make it back into the eight. Our last third of the year was an incredible team effort but our blokes must have been running on empty towards the end.

I'm curious to know where Reid's training has been focused this preseason. Anyone?
 
I can only speculate as to where Reid will be deployed this year. My expectation is he'll be used as a spare tall, filling gaps at either end or in the ruck as required. His experience allows him to cover a number of roles, usually as a forward or ruck but also getting back to plug up our defence when needed.

Coming into the 2022 season Reid had been training in defence, before Horse opted to trial Paddy McCartin in the role. Had he been available when Paddy and Tommy (and Rampe) went down last year I have no doubt we'd have used Reid to help plug our defence.

It seems pretty fortuitous for our club to have such a handy spare. If we have injuries this year and Reid is fit to fill in, he may be the difference that keeps us competitive.

Given how close some of our losses were in 2023 I think it's fair to say we might have pocketed 3 or 4 more wins last year if Reid had been available to fill key roles as required, perhaps enough to mean finishing as high as top four, rather than scraping into the finals.

Reid might also have allowed us to rest talls who might have benefitted from being managed. Instead we came into the finals on the back of a long and desperate slog to make it back into the eight. Our last third of the year was an incredible team effort but our blokes must have been running on empty towards the end.

I'm curious to know where Reid's training has been focused this preseason. Anyone?
Imo he has never played as consistently well as McLean did in the latter part of the season.

At best he is a break in case of emergency kinda guy.

His one on one defensive skills are unknown. When he has gone back it has been as a spare when Horse is flooding the backline. That said he is handy tackler.
 
Last edited:

RubbaDuck

All Australian
Mar 6, 2022
712
2,224
AFL Club
Sydney
Imo he has never played as consistently well as McClean did in the latter part of the season.

At best he is a break in case of emergency kinda guy.

His one on one defensive skills are unknown. When he has gone back it has been as a spare when Horse is flooding the backline. That said he is handy tackler.
Reid's best ruck showing was against Tim English where he rucked for most of the game and came wasy with the chocolates.

Whether Reid is used at all in the ruck this year depends on the status of Grundy and Ladhams, BUT McLean and Amartey are also competent back-up rucks. McLean is probably closest to Reid in his overall versatility over the ground. Reid's not the future so if all else is equal, others will naturally tend to get games ahead of him.

Reid's a very handy key position player to keep as a spare but only Nostradamus and those with crystal balls can know where he'll be needed this year. Which is why I'm interested in which groupd he's training with.

For my money, I think training Reid in a key defender role would make sense. Like you, I've not seen enough of his one-on-one defensive skills to convince me, but I'm happy he can fill a key forward or ruck role if required.
 

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Callipygian

Team Player
May 18, 2021
1,583
3,402
AFL Club
Sydney
Today Reid was running straight lines only.

Previously this pre-season I have seen him regularly paired up with Grundy and Amartey in one on one exercises. I wouldnt swear to it but I feel like he has been played more forward than back.

To me it makes a lot more sense to play Sam forward than back because we have a lot more depth in key forwards than with key backs (both with numbers and experience). Plus that's where Sam has mostly played over his career.
 
Imo he has never played as consistently well as McClean did in the latter part of the season.

At best he is a break in case of emergency kinda guy.

His one on one defensive skills are unknown. When he has gone back it has been as a spare when Horse is flooding the backline. That said he is handy tackler.
Hey Uncle, McLean
 

Wheresbuddy

Club Legend
Sep 14, 2020
1,741
3,885
AFL Club
Sydney
Reid was a big part in our run to the 2022 GF. Unfortunately he was also a big part of our epic stinker on the big day.

If (thats a big if) he can recapture his best, I can see him playing plenty of games this year. If not, he will be an experience hand to guide our VFL team. As long as he manages to stay fit, he will be useful in one way or another.
 

JackHiscoxWasFast

Team Captain
Nov 30, 2023
478
505
AFL Club
Sydney
So when does Sam get back in ?

He’s been training the house down and is now faster than Amartey over 20m.

Heard he’s been doing KFC sprints through the drive through and snaffling Nuggets orders from unsuspecting motorists.
 
Sam Reid's heard our many complaints about his goalkicking over the years, so he's found a solution to double his chances of the ball going through the big sticks.

IMG_2491.jpeg
 

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