Entering the season armed with a new five-year contract, a combination of restricted training due to some minor injuries and a lack of confidence meant Reid failed to fire early on in 2012. 

He began to rediscover his form in the middle of the year, producing 20 goals over an eight-game stretch, underlined by a career-high six against the Brisbane Lions in round 15. 

He missed three games in the run into September with a knee issue, but played all three finals, kicking one of the goals of the Grand Final in the victory over Hawthorn.

Draft history: 2009 NAB AFL Draft 3rd round selection (Sydney) No. 38 overall.

2013 Coaches Call

2012 was a reasonable year for Sam. If you take into account his age, he was 20 years old playing centre-half forward in a side that was competitive all year and ended up winning the premiership, so it’s an outstanding achievement for a guy who is so young. I think he’s still got a way to go, but for where he’s at at the moment, we’re pretty pleased with him.

Pre-season has been really good so far and he hasn’t missed a beat. I don’t think he’s missed a session or a drill, so he’s set himself up really well.

We hope in 2013 we hope Sam can take another step forward. I think each year he takes small steps forward and we hope that he plays with a little bit more grunt in his game in 2013 and starts to hold his own against some of the bigger bodies in the competition and is a more damaging forward, which we expect he will be.