Robert Harvey (footballer)

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Robert Harvey

Personal Info
Birth	21 August 1971,
Recruited from	Seaford
Height/Weight	181cm / 84kg
Playing Career¹
Debut	Round 19, August 6, 1988, St Kilda vs. Footscray, at Western Oval
Team(s)	St Kilda (1988-) 340 games, 204 goals
¹ Statistics to end of 2006 season
Career Highlights
Brownlow Medal winner 1997, 1998 Leigh Matthews Trophy 1997 St Kilda Best and Fairest 1992, 1994, 1997, 1998 All-Australian 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003 Michael Tuck Medal winner 2004 E.J. Whitten Medal winner 1992, 1993, 1996 Sirengate participant 2006

Robert Jeffrey Harvey (born August 21, 1971) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League recognised as one of the League's best midfielders and noted for his supreme endurance.

Contents 1 Early career 2 Trademarks 3 Awards 4 Injuries 5 St Kilda Games Record 6 2007 Season 7 Personal life 8 References

[edit] Early career

Recruited from St Kilda's VCFL zone, he made his VFL debut in 1988 when he was recruited from local team Seaford by the St Kilda Football Club (the league changed its name to the AFL in 1990). He is the only current player who played in the pre-AFL, VFL days.

[edit] Trademarks

Harvey is a playmaker noted for his hard running and ability to evade tackles using techniques such as the shrug, baulk, dummy, sidestep and blind turn. These attributes give him room to run the ball and dispose effectively through his deft handpasses and kicks.

He is also known for an explosive acceleration and freakish endurance.

[edit] Awards

In a distinguished career, Harvey has won countless awards and medals, including consecutive Brownlow Medals, the league's highest individual honour, in 1997 and 1998. Robert Harvey has been awarded over 200 Brownlow votes, making him 2rd for overall Brownlow votes in AFL/VFL history. He was the club best and fairest in 1992, 1994, 1997 and 1998, and made the All-Australian team seven times. He won three E.J. Whitten Medals, as well as the 1997 AFL Players Association Award (now known as the Leigh Matthews Trophy). Though he has never played in an AFL premiership side, he did play in two "night premierships" (pre-season), in 1996 and 2004, as well as the losing 1997 AFL Grand Final side against the Adelaide Crows.

[edit] Injuries

Harvey has struggled with numerous injuries in the recent past, he has undergone a knee reconstruction as well as suffering from numerous hamstring problems. In 2003 and 2004, however, he was able to play out a full season with the Saints. Harvey became the fourth player to play 300 games for the St Kilda Football Club in the 2004 Preliminary Final against Port Adelaide. In 2006 Harvey became the games record holder at St Kilda.

[edit] St Kilda Games Record

In round 7, 2006 against Geelong in front of a near full house at the Telstra Dome, Harvey broke the all-time games record for the St Kilda Football Club (set by Nathan Burke) with 324 games. To celebrate this, the Saints wore special guernseys with a logo in the centre. Surprisingly, the Saints lost to lowly Geelong, going down by 18 points.

[edit] 2007 Season

On the 14th September, 2006, it was announced that Harvey would play for the club again in 2007, marking his 20th season in the AFL. Harvey, along with Western Bulldogs' veteran Chris Grant (who actually led the Brownlow count in 1997, but did not win it because of a round 7 suspension) remain the only threats to Michael Tuck, who holds the games record with 426. However, it is not likely that Harvey will reach it.

[edit] Personal life

Harvey is married to Danielle, who appeared on Fox Footy's "Living With Footballers" before it was cancelled at the end of 2004. Thay have 3 children - a son, Connor, and two daughters, Remy and Alyssa.

Preceded by Tony Lockett	St Kilda Best and Fairest winner 1992	Succeeded by Nathan Burke
Preceded by Nathan Burke	St Kilda Best and Fairest winner 1994	Succeeded by Nicky Winmar
Preceded by James Hird, Michael Voss	Brownlow Medallist 1997-1998	Succeeded by Shane Crawford
Preceded by Corey McKernan	Leigh Matthews Trophy 1997	Succeeded by Wayne Carey
Preceded by Nathan Burke	St Kilda Best and Fairest winner 1997-1998	Succeeded by Nathan Burke
Preceded by Andrew McLeod	Michael Tuck Medal 2004	Succeeded by Brendan Fevola

[edit] References

• Robert Harvey (footballer) profile on Saints.com.au
• Robert Harvey (footballer) statistics from AFL Tables

• St Kilda Football Club (2005), St Kilda Football Club Media Handbook 2005.