Brent Harvey reveals Richmond sledgesKANE YOUNG
Herald-Sun
September 18, 2015BRENT Harvey has heard it all before.
“Too old”. “Goal-hungry”. “Sook”.
Even after 407 games, Harvey’s rivals still try to get inside his head.
Last Sunday, as the champion Kangaroo set about breaking his own 10-year clearance record to help his team book a semi-final showdown against Sydney tomorrow night, it was a Richmond opponent’s turn to wind Harvey up.
“Shaun Grigg told me last week that I was selfish,” Harvey told the Herald Sun.
“And that I was taking up another young guy’s spot on the list.
“That was interesting, I thought. I keep those little things in the back of my mind.”
The week before, when Harvey came on as the sub in the Round 23 dead rubber against Richmond, it was Taylor Hunt who taunted the 37-year-old.
But over 20 seasons in the game, Harvey is adamant the verbal jousting and mind games only spur him on.
“Absolutely, it does. I love that,” Harvey said.
“I love the fact that he (Hunt) thought he could rough me up and get the better of me.
“He was getting stuck into me a little bit, but I’m a competitor.”
Against the Tigers, Harvey finished with a game-high 31 possessions and seven clearances, the most he’s gathered in a decade.
More importantly, Harvey was glad the team responded to the finals intensity, twice reeling in 20-point Richmond leads.
“You looked around at our players when Richmond ran out and you could see on their faces a few little smirks thinking, ‘This is good, this is big’,” he said.
“I knew they got out to a little bit of a lead, but it never felt like the game was done and dusted.
“There were a few tackles at the start of the third quarter when I thought, ‘Yep, we are on here’.”
http://www.themercury.com.au/afl-finals-2015-brent-harvey-reveals-richmond-sledges/story-fnj3twbb-1227532140749
