Brent Harvey all class before, during and after his record-breaking 427th match

BRENT Harvey strode into AFL history on Saturday night and safe-guarded his unbeaten run in milestone matches stretching back to his first league game 7272 days ago.

Brent Harvey thanks the crowd after his record-breaking game.

BRENT Harvey strode into AFL history on Saturday night, passing Michael Tuck’s long-standing games record and safe-guarding his unbeaten run in milestone matches stretching back to his first league game 7272 days ago.

On a night when the football world was fixed on one man and his incredible longevity, the only prize ‘Boomer’ wanted was four premiership points.

And North Melbourne delivered what Harvey described as “the perfect night”, scoring a 23-point win to put a three-game gap between it and St Kilda in the finals race.

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Harvey’s first game came in Round 22, 1996 (yes, that was last century).

And his other milestone matches - 50th (in 1999), 100th (2001), 150th (2003), 200th (2006), 250th (2008), 300th (2010), 350th (2013), 400th (2015) - all resulted in victories, as well as game No.312 (2011), when he broke Glenn Archer’s club record.

Fittingly, Harvey was able to score a goal late in the game (his 512th) after teammate Lindsay Thomas gifted off a handball at the top of the goal square.

Brent Harvey is chaired off by Drew Petrie and Michael Firrito.

“I missed a sitter and Lindsay gave me a bit of cook,” Harvey said after the game. “He said I’ve got to get you one. I’ll get him a beer for that.

“The whole week has been pretty big, but the one thing I said to Brad (Scott) was that nothing else matters as long as we get the win. And we got the bikkies.”

It wasn’t biscuits, but three slices of toast with strawberry jam and a bowl of Nutri-Grain for breakfast that started Boomer’s date with history.

He kept to his routine in the peaceful surrounds of his home in Yarrambat, in Melbourne’s north-east, where real kangaroos still occasionally bound through the paddocks or the front yard.

Then his morning was spent watching his talented 12-year-old son, Cooper, playing basketball.

Harvey tried to keep things as normal as possible in a week that had been anything but. He said in a Facebook post before leaving for Etihad Stadium: “I’ve been pretty relaxed all day, just like a normal game.” Except it wasn’t.

He had done more interviews in a week than most players do in a lifetime, appeared on almost every footy show and received enough text messages to keep Telstra shareholders happy. Incredibly, he was still responding to messages on his way into the ground late Saturday.

He finished his Facebook message with four words: “It’s Game Time Baby.”

Saturday he was driven to the game in a specially designed ‘Boom Boom’ mobile, in a Mazda awash with his achievement and his signature daubed on the sides.

It was unmissable as it travelled along Yan Yean Road, and all the way from the Metropolitan Ring Road and Tullamarine Freeway into Etihad Stadium.

Etihad Stadium didn’t exist when he played his first game. But then again, neither did the Gold Coast Suns, Greater Western Sydney or Port Adelaide Power, while Harvey’s own junior football club, Preston RSL, sadly no longer exists.

Brent Harvey with children (from left) Hudson, Lacie and Cooper and father Neil in the background.

He gave a wave to more than 50 Kangaroos diehards as he stepped out of the car on arrival, two hours before game time.

Inside waited a number of former teammates and coaches whom he had specifically invited in for the occasion, eager to thank those who had been a part of his journey.

He made himself scarce when the lights went down and the rest of the Kangaroos team went through their “activation session”, consisting of yoga, meditation and muscle activation.

Boomer uses this time to find his own space, and relax. It was one of the few times he had been able to do that all week.

When the lights came back on, he was bouncing a tennis ball against the wall, with his hand-eye coordination as strong as ever at 38 years.

That ability to control balls of all shapes and sizes is a gift. On the eve of Harvey’s 300th game - incredibly six years ago - Harvey’s father Neil detailed how his son had fallen through the floorboards of a neighbour’s home when he was one.

Brent Harvey celebrates his goal with (from left) Jed Anderson, Lindsay Thomas and Ben Brown.

“He was crying his eyes out, but somehow still had the ball,” Neil recalled.

He still had the ball on Saturday night - 24 times in fact, including, fittingly, that last quarter goal that brought the crowd to its collective feet, knowing that Harvey’s own feat may last forever.

He paid tribute to Tuck, who wasn’t at the venue, by wearing a long-sleeved jumper in the warm-up as a special tribute to the Hawthorn great.

Harvey’s family were in the rooms before the game, including his long-time sweetheart but more recent wife Shayne; three kids Cooper, Lacie and Hudson; his parents Neil and Debra; brother Shane and sister Tara, and they watched the game unfold from a corporate box.

Shayne has been with Boomer for every step of his 427 AFL games. They met as grade three students at Preston North East Primary School, but she found him a freckled-faced annoyance back then. He’s still got some of the freckles, but their partnership stretches back to when they started going out in Year 11 at Reservoir High School.

Harvey asked for 80 tickets for his family and friends when he played his 400th game last year; that figure climbed to more than 140 on Saturday night, including 50 Medallion Club seats.

Brent Harvey directs traffic in his record-breaking 427th game. Picture: Mark Stewart

A special video tribute was played in the rooms with coach Brad Scott speaking to the group about the magnitude of the moment. Then Harvey’s brother Shane, who played 14 games with Essendon and North Melbourne, responded on behalf of the family.

As the team prepared to take the field, Harvey touched the wall on the way out - as he always does. Five nephews formed a guard of honour and he ran through the banner with his three kids. It was one of his favourite moments of the week.

He won the toss and kicked to the Lockett end, and made an impression early, giving Leigh Montagna the slip, and helping himself to seven disposals in the first term.

A cheer came when Aaron Mullett kicked the Roos’ fourth goal in the second term. Harvey wasn’t a part of the play, but the scoreboard saw him sitting on 4.5 (29) - a fitting number.

He missed a chance to goal during the second term when it was smothered, and some questioned the footy gods. Thankfully, they delivered at the right time so that Harvey could score what was probably the easiest goal of his career in the last quarter.

When the siren sounded, there was as much relief as emotion, though Harvey’s son, Hudson, was a little overcome at what was such a big week for his dad and for the game.

Brent Harvey runs through the banner before this milestone game. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

He was chaired off, with Drew Petrie and Michael Firrito, doing the lifting, and the Kangaroos rooms was awash with excitement and awe about what the kid drafted way back in 1995.

In keeping with his link to another age, Harvey had been asked by the club how he would like to celebrate post game.

His answer summed up just how down-to-earth he is - he wanted the sort of after-match drinks that were the norm back in the mid 1990s - a few beers and nibblies.

The club presented him with a large framed 427 Boomer logo signed by the entire team.

But, in reality, he will only be linked to that number for one week. Next week is 428. Next year is likely to be 450, and who knows where Harvey’s trailblazing career will end.