North Melbourne legend Brent Harvey’s son Cooper to make AFL debut

The son of an AFL legend will debut in one of the feel-good stories of the season, while the Kangaroos reveal what Alastair Clarko has been up to.

The name Harvey is back on the North Melbourne team sheet for a 433rd time after the Kangaroos confirmed Cooper Harvey would make his AFL debut against Geelong.

Harvey, 18, is the son of North Melbourne and AFL games record holder Brent and will become the club’s fourth debutant this season.

Kangaroos interim coach Brett Ratten said the 180cm forward had mounted an irresistible case for selection after continuing to hit the scoreboard in the VFL, booting 20 goals in 11 games, including two bags of five and a four-goal haul.

He kicked 5.3 from 20 disposals and laid four tackles in the Kangaroos’ VFL win over Williamstown on Sunday.

“There’s been things he’s worked really hard on his game, it’s sort of like when you think about the cricketers who just keep making 80s and 70s and 60s and 100 … he’s just forced his way into the team,” Ratten said.

The son of AFL games record holder Brent Harvey, Cooper, will make his senior debut this week after booting 20 goals in 11 VFL games this season. Picture: Josh Chadwick / Getty Images

“He came to Adelaide as a carry-over (emergency), so he was very close anyway, so to have eight shots at goal and five goals, he played a very good game.

“He’s creative with the ball, he’s a goalkicker, so that’s what we’ll see.”

Ratten said Alastair Clarkson had not visited the club but had begun to work off-site in his first week back on reduced duties, which had included travelling to Brisbane to watch an under-18s game between Vic Metro and the Allies.

Clarkson met with the football department away from the club for a three-hour session on Wednesday, with Ratten saying he was likely to begin catching up with players next week.

“He caught up with the coaches off-site yesterday, it was about three hours just to talk about where we are and what we’re looking for,” Ratten said.

“Some of the things that he’s had a look at from opposition to us and how we can improve.

“I think we’ve got to be flexible don’t we? How is he feeling, has he caught up with all the news and what we’re trying to do, just fill in some of the gaps.”

Brent Harvey is a development coach at North Melbourne and was able to break the news of Cooper’s debut in front of the Kangaroos players on Thursday. Picture: David Caird

Ratten said there was no need to put a timeline on Clarkson’s transition into the senior coach role, as it would place unnecessary pressure on the veteran coach and the club.

“It might take one week, two weeks, four weeks … I think if we put a timeline on it, it puts people under pressure, and we don’t need to be under pressure here,” he said.

“Three weeks, six weeks, it doesn’t matter – as long as we do it where we’re all on the same page and it’s the best thing for the footy club and the players.”

A development coach at the Kangaroos, Brent Harvey was with the club to tell his son he would play his first senior game against the Cats at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday.

“I’m very proud of you mate,” he said to Cooper after delivering the news on Thursday morning.

“Just go do your stuff. Lucky I didn’t have to do that in front of the boys, I started tearing up a bit.”

Taken with pick No. 56 in the 2022 AFL draft, Cooper is one of four father-sons on North Melbourne’s list, alongside Luke McDonald (son of Donald), Bailey Scott (Robert) and Jackson Archer (Glenn).