Willem Duursma reveals what he’s learnt from West Coast Eagles gun Harley Reid after Rising Star nomination

West Coast’s No.1 draft pick Willem Duursma has heaped praise on housemate Harley Reid for the way he has mentored him since he arrived in Perth, saying he also believes Reid’s strong form is a by-product of the way the star has embraced the expectation that he is now a leader.

Duursma has been an instant hit for the Eagles after debuting in round one and was nominated for the AFL Rising Star award this week following his 20 possessions and one goal during Sunday’s win over Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval.

The teenager followed in Reid’s footsteps by being drafted at pick one by the Eagles last year. Reid arrived in Perth with hype and had to adjust to being an immediate star.

The Victorians were already friends before the exciting wingman joined the club and Duursma said the powerful onballer had been a wonderful sounding board on and off the field.

“He’s just a good role model,” Duursma said.

“He’s matured a lot over this off-season and now into the season. I think he’s clearly shown that because he’s matured off-field, he’s now matured on-field.

“He’s played two back-to-back really good games, and it’s starting to show. So I think me having to live with him and giving him that opportunity to be a good role model has obviously helped him and helped his development. Now he’s playing some career-best footy, probably, and hopefully he can just stay consistent with that.

“(It’s about) how to carry yourself whether we’re in public or around the house. He’s been really neat. He’s good with that. He’s good at his cooking, so he’s taught me a bit of that stuff.

“But in terms of going around in public and the way he meets fans, the way he greets new people, and stuff. It’s those little things that are the professionalism that has just had a bit of a lift in him. It’s made us as a team and it’s made everyone around the club just that little bit better.

“The time he came over in 2023 was a very different story. Whereas now, when I’ve come over, I think he’s done a lot of work, and then I think the club’s done a lot of work as well to make this such a really good environment. We’re building something as a team, and it’s a lot easier for us younger boys now, who have just come through to shine.”

Duursma said West Coast had embraced a culture of “love and support” which had allowed the younger players to feel welcome.

Duursma followed Jobe Shanahan in being nominated for the Rising Star award in successive weeks, and the club is expected to have more players receive that honour this season given the impressive starts from Cooper Duff-Tytler and Josh Lindsay.

The number one pick’s body shape and style of play have already drawn comparisons to Marcus Bontempelli and Duursma said he’d always looked up to the Western Bulldogs captain as junior.

But as the fourth member of his family to play at the elite level behind brothers Xavier (Essendon), Zane (North Melbourne) and sister Yasmine at Carlton, Duursma said he’d found the transition to the AFL to be much easier than most people would think.

“I’ve been playing footy since I was probably five or six years old. I’ve probably spent long enough in the game to understand, especially watching it from having my brother being in there for seven years and being at games,’ he said.

“I’ve watched a lot of AFL footy. I’ve seen how it’s played. Honestly, it’s been pretty easy for me to transition into it because I’ve been around it so much. I think that’s probably a big advantage I’ve had.

“But also talking to Yeoy, talking to Harley and Fridge (Jack Graham). It’s just probably more of a thing of just trusting yourself and trusting your own ability. You’re here for a reason, and that’s been the main message throughout the whole thing.

“One of my biggest strengths is probably my footy IQ and knowledge of the game. I think it’s definitely a big advantage having been watching footy for so long with the brothers, and obviously Yazzy as well. It’s definitely helped me a lot.”