Murphy Reid has been nominated as the Round 6 Telstra AFL Rising Star following his performance against Melbourne on Saturday.

Reid was one of Freo’s best on the weekend, gathering 17 disposals at 70.6% efficiency, eight score involvements, six inside 50s, three marks, two tackles and a goal.

“To get the nomination is pretty special, and hopefully I can finish the year off well,” Reid said following the announcement.

“Week on week I think I’ve been building and becoming a lot more consistent throughout the games.”

The 18-year-old midfielder was Fremantle’s first selection in the 2024 National Draft, taken with pick No. 17.

Reid became the first Fremantle player to debut in Round 1 immediately following the Draft since No. 2 pick Andrew Brayshaw in the 2018 season opener. From the moment he joined Fremantle, he said he had felt welcomed.

“As I’ve said before, the relationships are huge here at the Club – obviously it’s very valued,” Reid said.

“Everyone is really close, and we do a lot of things outside of footy, like dinners and stuff like that, where we all get together.”

Reflecting on his short but impactful career, Reid said learning a new role and adjusting to AFL life had been his biggest learning curve.

“Playing the half-forward role, I was sort of adjusting to the names of the roles, where to run, and stuff like that. Then as the weeks have gone on, I’ve really come to it and feel really confident and comfortable now,” Reid said.

“In-game, the biggest learning has been being able to hold momentum and stuff like that.

“Let the crowd do their thing and not get distracted by that.

“And then the meetings and stuff like that week by week – learning about the team we’re playing in the week coming up, and also things we’re working on during the week.”

A standout moment for the 18-year-old was his match-sealing goal against the Bulldogs in Round 4, with Reid saying feeling the love and passion of the Fremantle crowd was a highlight.

“Probably kicking that sealer (against the Dogs) – I got pretty lucky with Voss handballing it off to me and having a bit of carry-on towards the crowd,” Reid said.

“It’s pretty awesome playing in front of the Purple Army. Like you said, other crowds are pretty weird – getting used to all the noise, booing, and stuff like that – but it’s definitely awesome being in front of the Purple Army.

“They are so good. We know what it feels like when we play away, so to have them behind us – they really get up and about.”

Speaking on Reid at his Tuesday morning media conference, Senior Coach Justin Longmuir said the 18-year-old had impressed from the outset.

“He backs himself in, trusts himself, and like I’ve said so many times, he shows great composure and understands what it takes to buffer the physicality of the game,” Longmuir said.

“He’s a really good decision-maker, and he’s evolving his game week in, week out.

“He’s not the finished product yet, but he’s progressing really well.”