Bruce Reid

Bruce Malcolm Reid (4 April 1946 – 27 October 2020) was an Australian doctor and former Australian rules footballer. He was the senior medical officer at the Essendon Football Club and played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Early life and career Reid, who originally played football for the North Balwyn Methodists, played two senior games for Hawthorn in the 1966 VFL season and one further game the following year.

Reid was a member of Preston's 1968 and 1969 Victorian Football Association premiership teams.

Having graduated from university with a medical degree while at Preston, Reid worked as a club doctor with Richmond from 1976 to 1979.

2013 supplements saga

Following months of rumours and investigations, on 13 August 2013, Reid—along with the Essendon Football Club, senior coach James Hird, senior assistant coach Mark Thompson, and football manager Danny Corcoran—was charged by the AFL with bringing the game into disrepute in relation to the supplements program at the club in 2011 and 2012. The club was given 14 days to consider the charges and face an AFL Commission hearing on 26 August 2013.

On 27 August 2013, the AFL Commission handed down its decision to exclude Essendon from the 2013 finals series and fine it $2 million. James Hird was banned for 12 months, Danny Corcoran suspended for six months, and Mark Thompson fined $30,000, but the case against Reid continued after his decision to fight the charges against him.

On 18 September 2013, 24 hours before Reid was due back in the Supreme Court, the AFL withdrew all 38 charges against him for his role in the supplements scandal, meaning he was free to resume his work at the Essendon Football Club.

Death Reid was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and left Essendon after more than 36 years as the club's senior medical officer.