'Gotta do your time': $2m star breaks silence on new deal

West Coast star Harley Reid has broken his silence on his decision to recommit to the club and resist the lure home to Victoria.

The former No.1 draft pick signed a two-year extension through to the end of 2028.

The deal is reportedly worth as much as $2m per season, making him among the highest paid players in the league.

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Reid's contract status has been hotly debated, even before he was drafted by the Eagles, with some predicting he would depart before signing even a second contract with the club.

However, he did re-sign short term at the very least.

"The players - on field, it probably hasn't gone to plan as much as we would like - But yeah, I think they play a big part of why I wanted to stay," Reid exclusively told 9News Perth.

"I think when you sit down with your close ones and circle of trust, you try and find the right decision. But I think either way, you've gotta do your time, and for me, it just wasn't the right time and I wanted to stay. I look forward to seeing what happens."

Reid is optimistic about the Eagles' ability to climb the ladder in 2026, after a horrific 2025, winning only one game.

West Coast has spent most of the 2020s in the bottom four and now needs to start turning things around.

"Adelaide Crows, they were 16th, 17th and come up first playing finals within a year. Hawks did the same thing, and Hawks are flying. For us, we would love to go down that path," Reid said.

"Ups and downs, the mental side of footy, you don't really think how much it can impact you until you go through that.

"Just want to see improvement, just want to win footy games, because you play to win. Probably never used to be so angry on the footy field until the last couple years. But look forward to hopefully taking a big step with my footy, probably on and off field."

Reid struggled with injury niggles during his first pre-season and was called out by Kane Cornes in particular for not being in the best shape as round one approached.

The 20-year-old said he's excited to attack summer full on this time around.

"I'm feeling a bit better this year than I did last year, my first off-season. Hopefully no photos with the gut. Hopefully I'm looking a bit better today. I'm excited but yeah, she'll be hard," he said.

The Eagles will add the top two players in this year's draft, boasting picks one and two.

The latter came from losing captain Oscar Allen to Brisbane, but it has given them a powerful hand to play.

"I'm actually excited for the number one pick," Reid said.

"Hopefully I can just go in the background and hide in the shadows.

"I thought we might've gone a little bit harder in the trade period ... but one and two is really good, you don't get that too often. Looking forward to that and hoping we can get a few more in the draft."

Reid was the top pick in the 2023 draft and has played 39 games for the Eagles since.