AFL 2021: Robert Harvey speaks ahead of first game as Collingwood coach
Robert Harvey’s former mentor didn’t see an AFL coach in him. But, like in his playing days, Harvey’s thriving on the challenge. And he needs to keep doing so.
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In 1998, when Robert Harvey was in the form of his life and on the way to a second successive Brownlow Medal, teams would try everything to stop him.
Then Saints coach Stan Alves remembered teams alternating taggers on Harvey – who in 10 consecutive weeks that year did not have less than 30 disposals per game - in a bid to keep up.
“That was just the thing they would do with him to try and run him into the ground,” he said.
“But when that happened to Robert, it would just take him to another level and to me it looked like he thrived on it.
“The bigger the challenger, the better he performed.”
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It’s a trait he’ll need to carry into his coaching career as he faces the almighty challenge of convincing Magpie bosses he should succeed Nathan Buckley as the next senior coach of Australia’s most famous sporting club.
He has served a long apprenticeship and has been under Buckley since 2012 following coaching stints at Carlton and St Kilda.
Harvey has missed out on numerous senior coaching roles along the way, as early as 2011 when he lost out to Scott Watters following the shock departure of Ross Lyon at the Saints.
And as recently as last year, when he was short-listed for the North Melbourne job won by David Noble.
“I probably have missed a few over the journey and what you do gain is resilience from it,” Harvey said this week.
“I know the caper and how it works, so you learn to roll with that a fair bit.
“I’m a lot more relaxed about that these days than I was and that’s a good thing.
“I don’t stress the small stuff anymore and that’s the way I like it.
“It’s disappointing when you miss jobs obviously as you want to get one when they come up, but I’ve learned to roll with that a bit better and be a bit more relaxed about it.”
His trajectory has surprised former St Kilda coach Grant Thomas, who coached Harvey in the latter parts of his illustrious career.
“I can’t say I thought Harves had a good football brain because to me he was like one of those wind-up toys because you just sort of wound him up and pushed down the race,” Thomas said.
“He was a very deep thinker and very, very focused on his own role and what he wanted to do, and he just worked harder than anyone else.
“He worked himself to limits that people were trying to run with him couldn’t do and got amazing results as a player.
“I didn’t expect Lenny Hayes to be a coach either and he’s gone on and done that.
“They played differently but they were similar in their professional approach to playing football and they were very determined and committed.
“But I didn’t see any of that sort of organisational leadership, but I saw a lot of train like me, work hard like me and prepare like me.
“But they weren’t the type of average defenders that end up thinking they can coach rather than the stars, if you like.”
Thomas said he believed Harvey would make the most out of his opportunity.
“From what I know of Harves, I think he will heavily focused on the connection within the team and to make sure they all play as a team and respect each other and are accountable to each other,” Thomas said.
“I think he’d be very big on adhering to whatever targets or goals they’ve set themselves tactically or strategically.
“He’s very clinical in that regard.”
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On the field, the big question is how different will Collingwood look under Harvey.
Collingwood premiership great and football analyst Mick McGuane said he believed the caretaker coach would bring a new attacking mindset.
“I personally think they’ll trust their defensive system with what they’ve already got in place, but I think he’ll add more layers of more attacking offence into their game,” he said.
“Harves was coached by Grant Thomas, who was coached by Malcolm Blight.
“He’s probably got his own experiences to draw on off the back of those experiences he’s had with other coaches in his illustrious AFL career.
“And I think if he will bring a far greater risk element to their offence such as playing with more speed and counter attacks.”
Harvey: How I’ll be different from Bucks
Collingwood caretaker coach Robert Harvey has stopped short of putting his hand up for the senior coaching position as he prepares for his first game in charge of the Magpies.
The St Kilda legend, who has been at Collingwood as an assistant since 2012, will coach his first game against Fremantle on Saturday after Nathan Buckley stood down this month.
Harvey will have nine games to make his mark in the hopes of joining Rhyce Shaw and David Teague in winning the senior role off the back of a caretaker stint.
When asked if he would be putting his hand up for the full-time job, Harvey said he was purely focused on the job at hand.
“To be honest, I just see it as a great opportunity for me,” he said.
“I see my role as trying to get the best out of and trying to get some momentum for these players.
“They’re a great group, and to be honest I haven’t thought too much about it.
“I see it as a nine-week block to do my best and hopefully get some good footy played by our boys.
“The rest of it in time looks after itself, so I don’t see it that way and I look at it as a time for growth for me.”
He said he would not be seeking clarity from Magpies football boss Graham Wright about whether he was in the running for the role as Wright had been “very clear” in what he expected from him.
“I see it as a really good opportunity for me to develop my coaching and get better, and even get better relationships with the boys that are here,” Harvey said.
“And hopefully win some games and play some good footy and really get some momentum into next year.
“I’ve been doing this caper for a fair while now, so I feel like I’ve evolved a fair bit as a coach.
“I started off dipping the toe in early days and as it’s gone on I’ve really developed a passion for it.
“I would say, like most coaches are, that I’m relationship based so I’m no different there.
“I love to build those relationships with the players and I’m strong around how I like the game played.
“I enjoy what I do and enjoy trying to make a difference to young guys’ lives.”
Harvey said he had spoken to Buckley a few times in recent weeks and would continue to seek him out for advice.
“I spoke to him the day after and we’ve exchanged a few messages since,” he said.
“Obviously I have great respect for the man and have worked with him for a long time.
“That won’t change and he’s been a great mentor for a long time and he’s a really good person, so we’ll stay in touch and I’ll still lean on him to get advice.”
Harvey said he would bring a slightly different style to Buckley, admitting his language would be different.
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