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Justin Chadwick and Shayne Hope

Confidence missing: Murphy Reid told to watch himself

Murphy Reid's teammates, and one of the AFL's greats, want him to back himself in the grand final. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

AFL great Leigh Matthews reckons Fremantle star Murphy Reid should watch replays of himself every day this week in the lead-up to Saturday's grand final against Brisbane.

Reid is already one of the biggest stars of the competition, with the second-year phenomenon winning his maiden All-Australian jersey this season following a standout campaign.

But the 20-year-old has struggled to maintain his lofty heights in the cauldron of finals football, with uncharacteristic errors and double guessing proving costly in recent weeks.

Michael Frederick, Hayden Young, Karl Worner and Neil Erasmus ahead of the AFL grand final. (Justin Chadwick/AAP VIDEO)

It's in contrast to what Reid has produced all season, and Matthews has a simple answer.

"If ever there's a player who needs a confidence building overload this week, I'd be showing him his best footy 20 minutes a day for every day," Matthews said.

"He's a ground-level player who's overthinking everything, and at the moment he's not getting the ball much.

"He doesn't know when to go, doesn't know when to drop back, he's just not backing himself."

AFL
Leigh Matthews became a Brisbane legend as a coach and is a leading commentator in the game. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS)

Matthews, who coached Brisbane to a hat-trick of flags from 2001-2003, wants others around Reid to encourage him to play on instinct.

"Every now and again he just doesn't go because (he's thinking) is it my turn to go or not go?" Matthews told Kayo's On The Couch.

"Like you've got to say, 'mate, if the ball's there, you go and get it'.

"He's such a good player for them that if they're going to beat the Lions, certainly Murphy Reid has to be somewhere near the Murphy Reid that became an All Australian."

AFL
It's been a bright start to Murphy Reid's career and the awards and accolades keep coming. (Richard Wainwright/AAP PHOTOS)

Reid missed the last two games of the regular season after copping a blow to his testicles in the round 22 loss to Melbourne at the MCG.

Although he was still able to rack up respectable possession tallies of 24 disposals against Hawthorn, 23 against Geelong and 20 against Sydney during the finals, he has lacked his usual polish and swagger.

Dockers forward Isaiah Dudley is urging Reid to back himself in and not rush his disposals.

AFL
Murphy Reid has become a fan and club favourite through the past couple of seasons. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

"He has more time than he thinks and it's just the pressure of the game," Dudley told AAP.

"We always tell him, 'back yourself in, you've got more time'.

"He's showed that once he holds onto the ball a bit longer he can create something.

"It's just perceived pressure ... good things happen when he holds onto the ball a bit longer."

AFL
Sam Switkowski has one last game in the AFL before pursuing other opportunities. (Richard Wainwright/AAP PHOTOS)

Fremantle booked their spot in the decider after coming from 28 points down to defeat Sydney by 12 points in a preliminary final classic at the SCG.

The Dockers will hold an open training session at their Cockburn base on Wednesday, with the 3000 tickets on offer to attend the event quickly snapped up by fans on Monday.

Saturday's decider will mark Sam Switkowski's final AFL match after the 29-year-old announced his retirement plans on the eve of the finals.

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