West Coast stoppage coach Luke Shuey has hailed the leadership potential of Harley Reid at a time the Eagles’ tyro is coming under fire for on-field indiscipline.

Norm Smith medallist Shuey said Reid had an edge to his game that one day would compare to the greats of the game.

“In three or four years his leadership is going to be that of Joel Selwood, Trent Cotchin and Luke Hodge,” Shuey told ABC Radio.

“You played against those blokes on field and not a lot of people know … but they knew how to get away with it.

“They had an edge to them where you turn your back on them at the wrong time and they’ll find a way to get you and get away with it.

“It’s just that they were so keen on winning and Harley is the same as that. He’s going to be a great leader for us over a long time.”

Reid topped the competition for free kicks conceded with 52 heading into round 19 but Shuey, who has a close relationship with the the 20-year-old, said it was important not to “bombard” the young midfielder with too much information.

“He’s not happy when he gives away free kicks,” Shuey said.

“We speak about footy often, me and Harls. He’s just so passionate and he’s really old school in a sense in that he just loves playing with his mates and loves winning.”

Shuey said age and experience would in time educate Reid to play with an edge but not go over the line.

“I don’t think there’s any easy fix right now,” Shuey said.

“His footy IQ is through the roof. He is one of the smartest kids I’ve seen walk through the door.

“Everything we’ve tried to implement in the year-and-a-half he’s been here, from a footy point of view, he’s adapted really quickly.

“He’s really coachable and he’ll learn where the line is as he matures … where you can push it so far and get away with things and the things that you can’t do.

“At the moment everyone’s talking about how much it’s costing our team every now and then but I think it’s going to be his greatest strength.”

And Shuey said Reid’s highly publicised clash with Jason Horne-Francis in last week’s trip to Adelaide was the sign of things to come.

“They are two of the most competitive blokes you will ever see and luckily for all of us they are really young and have plenty of footy left in them,” Shuey said. “There’s going to be some good battles between those two over the years.

“They are going to be great players to watch. I love watching Jase go about his business over in Adelaide – the way he plays he’d be a great teammate to play with.

“Knowing Harley, we feel so privileged to have him on our side and I’m sure the players feel the same way having him out there every week.”

Reid was not “a footy nut”, according to Shuey, but was diligent in his pre and post-game preparation.

“I don’t reckon he’d sit down and watch eight games a weekend but he seems to be all over what’s happening in the footy world,” Shuey said.

“He does love footy. He’s got a life to live and it’s a pretty difficult life for a 19 to 20-year-old to live here in Perth.

“He’s in tune with the game, what the trends are that’s helping teams win and players play well.

“He’s always in there on a Tuesday watching a bit of vision on who we’re playing that week coming up, to get his head around it and to try and find little advantages for himself.

“He’s got it pretty figured out for a 20-year-old and I think he’s got the perfect balance all things considered.

“He puts in plenty of work trying to improve, he’s very keen on his review process, he’s always got a pretty good idea of how he played, what he did well and what he can do better.

“I reckon he holds on to a bit of regret after games, he rides himself pretty hard, he’s normally coming in Monday or Tuesday talking about what he could have done better.

“For every one of those things there are probably four or five things he did to help the team.

“It’s a really promising trait for a kid to be that keen.”