Shane Harvey’s decision to retire ahead of North Heidelberg’s clash with Macleod this weekend will bring an end to one of the most prestigious and extraordinary careers in NFNL history.
The 40-year-old will play his 235th and final game for the Bulldogs after announcing last week that he would hang up the boots.
Harvey finishes his local footballing journey with a remarkable stack of accolades, including a Frank Rosbrook Medal in 2008, 11 Team of the Year selections (Six times in Division 1), two Division 2 Coaches MVP’s and three North Heidelberg best and fairest’s. He was also an NFNL representative in 2015.
As he approached his 16th season at Shelley Street Reserve, Harvey was set to have another crack at one of the few things missing in his honour list, a Division 1 premiership.
But this year’s campaign got off to a rocky start. His brother Brent suffered a devastating injury within the opening 10 minutes of the season, and after two more games, Harvey felt he didn’t have much more left in him.
He told NFNL.org.au that as tough as the decision was to make, he knew it was the right call.
“In the first couple of weeks, the team didn’t go great, and I obviously wasn’t getting a hold of it, I couldn’t get to the right places, and I was just finding it harder and harder,” he said.
“I just wanted to finish while I was still going ok, I didn’t want to be remembered as having a horrible last season where I couldn’t get a kick or got injured or missed the whole season or anything like that.
“So, I spoke to Jason [Heatley], and he was totally understanding, he was sort of thinking along the same lines. He didn’t want me to play reserves so it sort of made it pretty clear, especially after my brother broke his leg.”
The next step of telling his teammates at training last week was one he found incredibly difficult to carry out.
“I couldn’t really get my words out; I had my head down looking at the ground and tears were coming. It was definitely the hardest thing I’ve had to do in football,” he said.
Harvey will go down as one of the league’s most decorated players, his accolades tell the story of domination like never before.
His most unique addition to his personal honours list is his incredible goalkicking tally, as he is the only player in DVFL/NFL/NFNL history to kick over 1000 senior goals.
It’s an accomplishment that Harvey described as the proudest moment in his career.
“I’m extremely proud to have that figure next to my name, it’s obviously something that you don’t even contemplate dreaming about when you first start footy, being so many goals away and seeing how many years people play for, to get that,” he said.
“I think there was a couple of years where we didn’t play through Covid leading up to it, so it made it a little bit longer, and then once I eventually got there, it was a really proud moment.
“I think when I finish my career and look back at it, apart from the premierships, that will be my number one highlight.”
Harvey was a magician with ball in hand and had an incredible ability to find the big sticks from just about anywhere inside 50, sometimes even from outside the arc.
He had six seasons (including finals) where he kicked 100 or more majors and won five competition leading goalkicker awards, his latest being in the top flight in 2018.
The Bulldogs star had 15 games where he kicked 10 or more goals and achieved his career high of 17 majors back in Round 11, 2017 against Watsonia.
But when asked about his most dominant goalkicking period, Harvey reflected on his first year at the club in 2008 when by his fourth game, he had already kicked 33 goals.
“As good as it is to say you kicked 17 in a game, I think in my first year in 2008, I had a little period where I kicked 11 against Greensborough in Greensborough and then 13 against West Preston-Lakeside at West Preston,” he said.
“That was a little period where I sort of thought, it’s not going to last forever this, I better make the most of it.”
But it did last, and his teammates would start to benefit from Harvey’s brilliant feats.
North Heidelberg played in four Division 2 grand finals in six years between 2012 and 2017. Harvey would win the best on ground medal after an outstanding nine-goal performance in 2012, but his side would lose an agonising decider against Epping, falling short by four points.
However, the team success would eventually come, first in 2014 after the Bulldogs recovered from a second semi-final loss against the Fitzroy Stars to defeat the same opponent by 36 points in the decider a fortnight later.
The club’s first premiership since 2005, Harvey described the mentality of the side at the time, saying that after the heartbreaking defeat of a couple of years earlier, they were determined to not let the same result occur again when given the opportunity.
“In 2014, we recruited a fair few new players and it was sort of a new team, and we were going in a different direction,” he said.
“In the first semi-final, we lost to the Fitzroy Stars pretty comfortably and then in the prelim, we could’ve been six or seven goals down against Mernda until a 12-goal last quarter made us win pretty easily.
“I think from then, we all had the feeling that we weren’t going to let this one slip, especially after 2012 against Epping where we lost a close one. That was my first premiership at North Heidelberg and with a team I sort of grew up with, that was very special.”
After a short stay in the top flight, the Bulldogs had further chances for silverware, first in 2016 when they lost another tight grand final, this time against Hurstbridge, before the inclusion of brother Brent from a 432-game AFL career sparked the side to reach new heights in 2017.
The Bulldogs would taste defeat just once in the home and away season and score an astounding 2400 points in those 18 games before comfortably winning their two finals to claim the premiership over Diamond Creek.
Harvey, who kicked 115 goals that year, described the season as one of the most fun to be a part of and by playing alongside Boomer and cousin Blair, the Bulldogs were destined to go all the way.
“I think it just sort of had an awe about it with my brother coming back from AFL and just the crowd numbers that were coming to watch,” he said.
“I mean, that team was, as you could see a year later in 2018 when we played off in a prelim in Division 1, it was way too good for Division 2 that’s for sure.”
Along with his on-field talent, Harvey’s durability in the game has been just as extraordinary to witness throughout his time in the league.
Since joining the Bulldogs at the beginning of the 2008 season, the 40-year-old has missed just 18 of a possible 252 senior games. Saturday will be his 88th consecutive match, having not missed one since Round 7, 2017, he’s also previously had a consecutive game span of 60 games (between 2013 and 2017).
Harvey didn’t hide away from the fact that being brothers with the AFL games record holder might have something to do with his ability to keep playing at a high level for so many years, adding that it’s a family trait that goes back to his father Neil.
“I think it really is the competitiveness that I’ve got, we just love competing and going out there and playing,” he said.
“Definitely half of it’s got to do with the genes, my Dad played senior cricket up until his mid-60’s and reserves footy until his mid-40’s, so it’s definitely in our genes that we can sort of continue.
“I definitely don’t feel 40 years of age when I’m training, but after the games nowadays, I’m definitely feeling it.”
Neil’s playing days at North Heidelberg is where Shane’s journey with the club started. Having played juniors with the Bulldogs’ affiliate at the time, Preston RSL, Shelley Street Reserve was a second home for Harvey.
Reflecting on his relationship with the Bulldogs, Harvey couldn’t have been more grateful to have continued and now be finishing his career at a club that he holds close to his heart.
“I remember growing up as a kid being there every Saturday, watching my hero’s playing every single week and I always knew that eventually I would end up playing for North Heidelberg,” he said.
“I think 2006 I had a meeting with them to go back and play and it just didn’t eventuate in my first year out of AFL, I chose the country with some of my best mates for a couple of years and I don’t regret that because I always knew I would go back to North Heidelberg.
“When I did, I really did love it and I love the place, I love the supporters, it was just a very good place to be around, it does get a bit of a bad name back then, but it was a great place to play footy.”
Whilst supporters will miss Harvey’s talents on the field, the silver lining in his retirement will be the opportunity to spend more time with his wife and three sons.
It’s what Harvey described as the thing he was looking forward to the most from hanging up the boots.
“My eldest son is 15 and he trains Tuesday’s and Thursday nights and I’m the runner for his team, but I can’t get to any training sessions obviously because of my training so that made much of the choice a lot easier knowing that I will be there,” he said.
“My middle son has just started baseball so that’s a bit of an interesting one but he trains on a Thursday night so I can get there early enough to watch a bit of his training and he plays on a Saturday so I can watch his baseball and my youngest son, he’s got basketball on a Saturday which I don’t get to see often.
“I’m really looking forward to watching the three boys doing what they love.”
But Harvey has one more task ahead, as his Bulldogs still search for their first win of the season after a 0-3 start in 2023.
As to what to expect from the dazzling forward on the weekend, Harvey is hoping to go out with a bang.
“I’m tipping I might just do my own thing because I won’t be getting dropped that’s for sure,” he said.
“I can pretty much guarantee that at some stage in the game, I’ll have everyone out of the forward line and I’ll have my three boys and all their friends behind me going from end to end and hopefully I can kick a couple and I can really make it a great day for everybody.”
As he finished reflecting on his illustrious career, Harvey credited the NFNL, North Heidelberg and many people along the journey for what he was able to achieve on the football field.
“I’ve really enjoyed the league and the direction it’s gone, it just keeps getting better and better, so I do thank everyone from the league,” he said.
“I thank the club, they’ve been unbelievable to me, they’ve pretty much never ever said no to any of my demands, not that there’s been too many, they’ve always been so nice to me and the supporters, my teammates.
“There’s just so many people out there that hopefully come and watch me and I can put a smile on their face and they can leave with a smile on their face knowing that they’ve got their money’s worth and they’ve had a good day out.
“Most importantly, my wife and three kids who have probably only missed a handful of games over the 230 odd, they’re the ones that need all the credit for letting me do this for so long.”
SHANE HARVEY’S CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
– 234 North Heidelberg Games
– 1048 North Heidelberg Goals
– Only player in league history to kick 1000+ goals
– 6x 100+ goals in a season (including finals)
– Frank Rosbrook Medallist (2008)
– Division 2 premiership (2014, 2017)
– Division 2 Coaches MVP (2013, 2014)
– Division 1 Team of the Year (2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2018, 2019)
– Division 2 Team of the Year (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017)
– Division 1 League Leading goalkicker (2018)
– Division 2 League Leading goalkicker (2012, 2013, 2014, 2017)
– Division 2 Grand Final best on ground medallion (2012)
– NFNL Representative (2015)
– North Heidelberg best and fairest (2011, 2013, 2015)
