North Melbourne AFL coach Brad Scott says he’s already made his feelings clear about whether 35-year-old Brent Harvey should play on in 2014.
And the answer is yes.
The veteran of 358 matches had a game-high 37 disposals and fellow speedster Daniel Wells booted four goals on Friday night as North scored their first victory over a top-four side in 2013.
North scored three goals to Geelong’s two in the final term to win their round-19 clash 15.6 (96) to 13.8 (86) in front of a crowd of 33,584 at Etihad Stadium.
Top-eight hopefuls North moved to an 8-10 win-loss record and gained some revenge on the Cats who had come from 35 points down at halftime to beat the Kangaroos by four points in their round-two encounter at the same venue.
“I’m pretty confident he (Harvey) will play on,” Scott said on Friday night.
“I’ve certainly made my thoughts clear at list-management. I’m only one vote though, but I hope it’s a pretty important vote.
“How could you argue with his performances so far this year? He’s just an amazing athlete.”
The Cats had looked liked coming back from the dead twice in succession against North, recovering from 20 points down at halftime to trail by eight points at three-quarter time.
“It had a bit of an eerie sense of deja vu didn’t it, in the third quarter,” Scott said.
“We’ve had some really disappointing losses this year that have cut pretty deep.
“It’s very very rewarding when you learn from those situations and you can hold up under pressure because there’s no doubt Geelong were coming at us.
“Tonight was just one very small step in the right direction. The belief has always been there.”
Scott was puzzled by a video review following a shot on goal by Geelong’s Nathan Vardy in the second term. Replays suggested strongly the ball had hit the post but a six-pointer was awarded.
“I dunno. Maybe I didn’t get the same angle that everyone else got,” Scott said.
“Where I sat, it clearly hit the post.
“There are frustrations in this game all the time.”
North face Adelaide at AAMI Stadium next Sunday.