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Emerging AFL superstar Harley Reid suffered a late injury scare after delivering a stunning highlight during on the West Coast a narrow six-point loss to Essendon on Saturday.
While Reid looked to have avoided any injury, Elliot Yeo finished his 200 game on the bench after picking up a groin strain.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Harley Reid’s double takedown.
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During the pulsating final term, Reid pulled sharply while chasing down an opponent near the touchline, with the teenager immediately leaving the ground to have his right hamstring assessed.
West Coast closed the gap to six points with 63 seconds left when Jack Williams scored his third goal. Reed sprinted back to the ground after being given the go-ahead, and the Eagles won the ensuing center clearance to give themselves a chance to tie.
But Essendon’s defense stood firm under the intense pressure, clearing the ball to ensure they didn’t endure two straight draws following last week’s stalemate against Collingwood.
Reid had a relatively quiet night but produced an epic double tackle in the third term to leave Essendon captain Zach Merrett and Ben Hobbs grounded.
Both Bombers were unable to contain Reed with the teenager treating their tackle attempts with contempt.
The crowd went wild at the sight, but Merrett had the last laugh as he racked up 29 disposals and booted three goals in the 11.11 (77) to 11.5 (71) win which took Essendon’s record to 5-2-1.
Tim Kelly starred for West Coast with 29 disposals and nine clearances, while Jake Waterman and Williams kicked three goals each.
Reid had a quiet night, finishing with 14 disposals and two clearances in his first game back from the break.
West Coast will now be sweating on the severity of Yeo’s groin injury, with the setback a crushing blow for the veteran in his 200th AFL game.
Essendon dominated the clearance battle 13-5 in the first ground, but their 2.5 return meant the Eagles trailed by just 10 points at the first break.
Bombers ruckman Todd Goldstein became the first player to break the 10,000 mark for hits in the opening term when he collected his fifth ruck of the night.
West Coast grabbed the lead early in the second quarter thanks to goals from Waterman and Yeo.
But a series of horrendous turnovers and defensive mix-ups cost West Coast dear as Essendon hit back strongly to take a 22-point half-time lead.
West Coast came alive in the third quarter with Reid providing the biggest highlight with his double tackle which ended with a Jack Darling goal.
That cut the gap to four points, but Merrett hit back shortly after with a magical dribble goal from the pocket to help stretch Essendon’s lead to 15 points at the last change.
Eagles wide receiver Noah Long injured his left knee while being tackled in the third quarter.
Essendon substituted Jye Caldwell due to a tight calf.
West Coast had the chance to cut the gap to four points with 10 minutes remaining when Waterman went close to scoring, but the referee turned the ball over after Eagles goal scorer Jamie Cripps pushed an opponent.
The Eagles continued to push despite Yeo’s injury, but the Bombers held on for the win in a thriller.
– With 7NEWS.com.au
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