[2] Reid played junior footy for Tongala Football Club, Bendigo Pioneers, and the Victoria Country representative side.

[7] Reid instantly received much hype and fanfare, most notably from the only locally edited daily newspaper in Perth, The West Australian.

Reid was featured on the back page of the newspaper 25 times, including 17 days in a row, before he had played a game, leading to questions as to whether the media scrutiny was excessive.

[10] In round 6, Reid finished second in the voting for the Glendinning–Allan Medal, awarded to the player adjudged best afield in the Western Derby between Perth-based rivals West Coast and Fremantle.

He has been likened to football greats such as Dustin Martin, Chris Judd and Ben Cousins,[14][15] and the media hype surrounding him has been dubbed "Harley Reid mania".