North great Glenn Archer says Brent Harvey is "the best user of the ball" he has ever played with, but admits mistaking him for an autograph-seeking Roos' fan when they first crossed paths.

The 42-year-old, who played 311 games for North in a career spanning 16 seasons, met Harvey in the lead-up to his fifth season at the club before the pair went on to play together for 12 years.

Archer said he was under the impression Harvey was just a young North fan when he arrived at Arden Street in time for the 1996 season.

"When he first rocked up to the club, I thought he was a supporter. I thought he was a kid looking for an autograph and then someone told me, 'No, we drafted that guy', and I said, 'You're kidding, aren't you? He's only three-foot tall'. That was a bit of a surprise," Archer told NMFC.com.au.

"It didn't take long to realise why they did draft him.

"He just had a brilliant footy brain and was a natural footballer – knew where to go, knew how to get the ball, knew how to use it – so you could see why the recruiters picked him up instead of going for your standard six-foot-two athletic type."

Although Harvey's small stature caught many by surprise, the lightly framed speedster began to captivate his teammates on the training track and his strong work ethic helped him quickly earn respect.

Archer said Harvey had always sparked the team with his ability to execute pin-point accurate passes by hand or foot.

"He is the best user of the ball I've ever played with so I got very excited when he had his hands on the ball and there was a little bit of space in front of me because I knew he was going to hit me on the chin every time," he said.

"It's very rare that you play with a lot of guys that can change a game for you – Wayne Carey also comes to mind but Boomer's the other one – when the team wasn't doing that well, needed a goal or needed a spark, he'd generally give it to you."

In the past few weeks, Roos coach Brad Scott has refused to automatically guarantee Harvey a spot on North's list beyond this season.

The veteran began as the substitute against Geelong a fortnight ago for the first time in his career in a rather surprising move.

After the game against the Cats, Scott acknowledged the 167cm livewire "needed to know if he's not going to listen to my words, he might listen to my actions".

Archer said Harvey would much rather avoid the substitute's vest given his strong competitive nature, but thought the move against the Cats was an interesting one.

"I didn't mind it actually from a strategic point of view. I put myself in the other coach's shoes and I'm sitting in the other coaches' box, I'm thinking, 'OK, what am I going to do with this bloke when he comes on? Do I sit someone on him?" he said.

"In a way it throws the other coach off and breaks up their structure a bit when he comes on, so I didn't mind it."

Archer, who is recognised as North's 'Shinboner of the Century' and joined the club's board earlier this year, said he admired Harvey for his fierce loyalty to the club and in life in general.

"He still knocks around with the same guys that he grew up with," he said.

"(He's) been with the same girl since he was 12 (years old) … and he's very close to his parents, so loyalty would be the number one trait that attracts me to him."

Although Archer was unsure whether the 400-game milestone would ever be reached again, he did not mince his words about how Harvey would be remembered in years to come.

"Pretty easy – a legend of the game," he said.

"There's only four people that have done this before and when you really drill down on it, it's a special achievement and quite amazing.

"He's a freak of nature."