NFL 2018: Blair Harvey ready to build on legacy as Whittlesea coach
BLAIR Harvey is confident his experience as an interim coach at Heidelberg will serve him well when he takes charge at Whittlesea next year.
Local Footy
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Footy. Followed categories will be added to My News.
SEVEN rounds into the 2011 season, powerhouse Heidelberg was battling to stay in finals contention.
The Tigers were seventh on the ladder at 3-4 when champion rover and skipper Blair Harvey was parachuted into the senior coaching role after the departure of Gavin Crosisca.
NFL 2018: EAGLES CONFIRM HARVEY AS ATKINS’ REPLACEMENT
NFL: BRENT HARVEY SOAKS UP FLAG SUCCESS WITH FAMILY
NFL 2018: SOUTH MORANG PLANNING FOR THIRD YEAR WITH COACH
Thrust into his first coaching job, Harvey led Heidelberg to 10 wins from its last 11 games of the home-and-away campaign, finishing second behind Bundoora.
The Bulls denied Harvey and his Tigers a fairytale finish in the grand final, prevailing by 10 points.
“There’s a lot of things that we did back then that worked well,” Harvey said.
“I can’t see why those same things can’t work well again.
“There was a lot of buy-in from the playing group. It was one group and that same philosophy, I can carry on to Whittlesea.
“I might be the senior coach, but we are one club and all working toward the same goal.”
Harvey will take on his first full-time coaching role next year after being appointed as Whittlesea’s new mentor.
The 39-year-old was previously assistant coach at Heidelberg and North Heidelberg, where he built a reputation as one of the NFL’s all-time greats.
Harvey’s decorated career included six premierships (five at Heidelberg and one with North Heidelberg), 11 Division 1 grand final appearances, four selections in the NFL team of the year and more than 350 games.
A tenacious on-baller, Harvey’s playing days ended with a Division 2 flag in 2017 alongside his cousins Shane and Brent.
Harvey admired North Heidelberg’s transition from the second tier to Division 1 this year as they became the first club to qualify for finals after being promoted in NFL history.
“That’s obviously the perfect scenario, what happened there,” he said.
“They built a strong list that was good enough to play Division 1 football.
“When they got to Division 1, they were ready to go.
“They didn’t have that year of thinking ‘are we good enough?’
“They thought straight away that were good enough and got to a prelim final. The rewards were there.”
Harvey hopes to achieve similar feats at Whittlesea, which will feature in Division 2 next year for the first time since winning the 2015 premiership.
“They have been up and down from first division to second division,” he said.
“Hopefully we can improve that. My short-term goal is to get straight back up into first division as quick as possible.
“Then be sustainable and stay there for a long time.”
The new Eagles coach hopes the season he spent in the second tier with North Heidelberg will provide valuable intel on opposition clubs.
“Last year I had an opportunity to play against all those sides in Division 2,” he said. “Obviously (not) St Mary’s, who have come up from Division 3.
“I have a fair bit of knowledge of the opposition, which is great.”
WATSONIA LOCKS IN LATTOUF AS NEW MENTOR
TWO STARS BACK AS FITZROY BUILDS UNDER HETA
GARRY RAMSAY THE MAN FOR MONTMORENCY
Whittlesea’s youthful reserves team reached the Division 1 grand final this year and the club has plans to field two under-19 sides in 2019.
“They are a young group, it’s a challenge and I am looking forward to the challenge,” he said. “It’s more rewarding if we can build something from the ground up and carry that on for years to come.
“It’s going to be more rewarding than going to a club where they’re on the cusp of doing something and you got them over the line.”
The Eagles will have a new captain next year after Andrew Fairchild joined AFL Outer East club Kinglake as coach.
“I think they are pretty light. They obviously need to put on a bit of size,” Harvey said.
“If we can do that, (put in place) a simple game plan and everybody understands their roles, I think the club can improve by 30 or 40 per cent just in those little things.”
MORE LOCAL FOOTY
KEY RE-SIGNINGS BOOST TULLAMARINE
‘One step off brain damage’: Inside Goldsmith’s harrowing concussion case
Rory Goldsmith’s premiership celebrations took a twist in September after a serious concussion led him down a confronting and ultimately life-changing path. He shares his story with TYLER LEWIS.
Country powerhouse lands brother of AFL champion
This local club has had several players depart this off-season, but they have added the younger brother of a Collingwood icon.