Every team wants to improve their team defence. We are no different. It’s no coincidence the top few teams on the ladder are really good in that area. We were towards the bottom in stopping teams, moving the ball forward, so it’s an area we need to address,” McGrath said.
“It’s a whole-of-field thing. It starts with our forwards, moves into our midfield, and our backs have to complement that. We are doing a lot of work on that at the moment.”
He is big. He, unfortunately, hurt his knee last year, but it gave him a really good opportunity to build his frame, and he has just developed that to another level this off-season. He is open to playing in multiple roles, but he has got the body now to compete at an AFL level.”
Reid did not play a senior game last season, but has also impressed through the summer, working alongside free agent recruit Ben McKay. McGrath said the emerging defender was set for a strong campaign.
“We haven’t seen a lot of him [Reid], unfortunately with injury, with things not going his way, but he has had a really great pre-season. He is connecting really well with guys like ‘Rids’ (Jordan Ridley) and Benny McKay on the last line of defence,” McGrath said.
“He towers over all of us back there. He has got great skills, great game sense, and, hopefully, we see him a lot this year.”
