“Poor” scenes surrounding Harley Reid are criticized by AFL supporters during a vindictive matchup with the Fremantle Dockers.

Fremantle’s 35-point victory against West Coast on Saturday night was immensely willing, much like the old-fashioned AFL derbies. And from the first bounce onward, Fremantle players and supporters fiercely targeted Harley Reid, the Eagles’ highly sought-after number one draft pick. Reid was targeted each time he touched the ball.

Similar to West Coast’s unexpected 37-point victory over Fremantle earlier in the season, Reid provided the Eagles’ spark when the wooden spooners from the previous year threatened to cause another derby boilover. Late in the second term, Fremantle was behind a Reid-led West Coast team by 19 points. However, they responded with eight straight goals to win 17.8 (110) to 11.9 (75).

But the major talking point out of the match was the treatment of Reid as the star midfielder was relentlessly booed by rival fans, much to the dismay of the majority of the AFL world. The 19-year-old tallied a career-high 29 disposals and 10 clearances for the match, but it was his running battles with Fremantle’s biggest stars that proved to be the most memorable part of a spiteful derby.

Reid and Fremantle’s star-studded midfield came to blows on multiple occasions, with Andrew Brayshaw particularly frustrated by Reid’s physicality, as the Dockers vice-captain at one point bowled the Eagle over with a brutal hit from behind.