Ryan Daniels: Murphy Reid is the man that could be the finishing touch to Fremantle Dockers’ flag dream

There are games in footy that just mean more. The coaches and the players will tell you that all matter the same. It’s always just four points at stake. Technically that’s true, but there are some games where you find out a little more about where you’re at. Where the footy world is watching to see how you handle the heat. Maybe it’s a Grand Final rematch, or a traditional rival. Sometimes it’s a narrative created through trade or free agency like Christian Petracca against Melbourne or Zach Merrett facing Hawthorn. Then there’s the trauma. When a past loss stings so bad, the stink hangs around. The best way to overcome trauma is returning to the scene of the pain — and burying the beast. Footy’s therapist. For Freo, the Cats in Geelong — in round one — is one of those. They turned up to GMHBA stadium in the first stand of 2025 and the Cats treated them like a ball of yarn. A 78-point demolishing — and it wasn’t that close. Today, the Dockers return to Geelong. They don’t have to win this game to show they’re serious – but they absolutely have to show up and throw some punches. Today will tell us plenty about Fremantle in 2026. A line in the sand must be drawn — and the person holding the stick might be a 19-year-old kid. The only Docker who landed a blow last year was that kid. In his first game, Murphy Reid kicked four goals in four minutes on debut. A mini out-of-body experience on an otherwise dark day for the Dockers. At the time it seemed a little flukey, a few lucky bounces of the ball maybe. Right time, right place sort of stuff. As the year went on, we realised right place, right time is tattooed on this kid’s forehead. Or at least it should be. He’s something truly special. In the 2024 draft, Richmond had four picks before the Dockers selected Reid. Let’s give their prospects time to cook before judging, but out of the gate, it appears they may’ve missed a game changer, as did West Coast, who had the selection right before Reid turned purple. The crazy thing is, you could see it right away. The first time I watched Murphy at training, I was stunned. Here’s how I summed it up - and yes, I’m proudly bringing back my receipts here. “Fremantle have one here. When you watch this guy train or play, you see things that make you raise your eyebrows. The little deft touches to a teammate’s advantage, the time and space he finds in congestion — dare I say it, Mundy-like,” I said at the time. “He uses the ball exquisitely, seeing players you didn’t know were there. He’s young, needs a few more pre-seasons, is about 20 per cent of the finished product — but this kid won’t be overwhelmed. “At an early pre-season training session ‘Bruce’ brought down Nat Fyfe with a poleaxing tackle. Taking down Fyfey — even in his final footy chapter — is no easy feat. Everyone there made the sound you make when you see a toddler fall down a step. Even Fyfey was probably impressed, once he got the grass out of his teeth”. 12 months later, ‘Bruce’ could be the reason the Dockers finally make that last leap. Caleb Serong is the engine, Andrew Brayshaw is the heart, Hayden Young the class, Luke Jackson the chaos, but Reid provides something very few players have. It doesn’t even have a name — you just know it when you see it. Scott Pendlebury has it. Chris Judd had it. Gary Ablett, Jason Akermanis. They had it. James Hird. Time, space, a subtle slipperiness. The best part for Fremantle is he doesn’t need to be their best player. Yet. The cream, the cherry, the icing. Whatever you want to call it. Murphy Reid just needs to provide that.