Round 13 last year – Brent Harvey had just 11 possessions. By his standards it was a game to forget. He was bruised, battered and simply beaten by Ryan Crowley.
On Friday night, he got his revenge. With 29 touches, and an amazing 20 score involvements he was the most influential player on the field.
It had shades of his turnaround from a loss way back in 2010; Harvey registered just 5 disposals against the Saints’ Clint Jones. The week following, he compiled 44 in one of the best performances of his career.
The 35-year-old has rarely been beaten in his 368-game career, so he needed little motivation going into the clash against the Dockers.
“You approach it like any other, but in saying that I always look forward to guys that beat me previously, and last year Crowley not only beat me, he demolished me,” Harvey told NMFC.com.au after the game.
“This year I was really looking forward to the game. I was looking forward to the challenge. I knew it was going to be a challenge within the challenge, and we got the four points and I got the better of him.”
PRESS PLAY above to watch the Brent Harvey post-match interview
North’s 13-point win was its first against Fremantle at Patersons Stadium since 2007. The scenes of jubilation on the ground and in the coaches’ box illustrated how much it meant to everyone involved with the club.
“Don’t worry about the ladder position of Fremantle or West Coast or whoever you play; whenever you come to Perth it’s an amazing feeling to go back and it’s a four hour plane trip home...it’s more enjoyable.”
Getting the job done for 250-gamer Drew Petrie was the ultimate prize for the veteran's efforts.
“That was the big thing coming over here – my big mate, big Drewy, I text him today and I reckon I’ve played about 235 games with him. I just said how proud and everything I was of him,” Harvey added.
“When I spoke to the boys before the game, I just said ‘if we’ve got 22 Drew Petrie’s tonight we win the game’, and I reckon we had 22 Drew’s. We all played our part and it was great.”
