Brent Harvey

Harvey was drafted by the North Melbourne Football Club in the third round of the 1995 AFL draft, debuting during the 1996 AFL season. In 1999, he was the recipient of the E. J. Whitten Medal for being judged as the best player for Victoria in the State of Origin series. He also helped North Melbourne win the premiership with a victory over Carlton in the 1999 AFL Grand Final.

In round 22 of the 2003 season, in what was his 150th game, Harvey kicked three goals in the Kangaroos' record-breaking 124-point victory over Carlton.^[1] That year, he won his first Syd Barker Medal as North Melbourne's best and fairest, and won the Jim Stynes Medal in the International rules series.

In 2007, Harvey polled 22 votes in the Brownlow Medal, finishing equal second. In 2008, he polled 17 votes to finish in eighth place.^[2][3] He later captained Australia in the 2008 International Rules Series.^[4]

In round three of 2010, Harvey led North Melbourne to a 25-point win over the West Coast Eagles with a career-best 44 disposals, along with 11 marks, six goal-scoring assists, and one goal.^[5]

In Round 12 of 2011, Harvey played his 312th game for North Melbourne to break Glenn Archer's club record.

In round 17 of 2015, Harvey played his 400th career game, and in round 19 of 2016, he played his 427th game to break Michael Tuck's VFL/AFL games record.^[6][7] In honour of Tuck's record, the Kangaroos had the number 427 on the vertical royal-blue bars of their guernseys, and the number 50 on the 50-metre arc was replaced by 29, the number Harvey wore for his entire AFL career.

In August 2016, North Melbourne announced they would not renew Harvey's contract for the 2017 season.^[8] He subsequently retired at the 2016 Syd Barker Medal night. At the time of the announcement, he was the VFL/AFL all-time leader in games played, with 432, and also ranked second for most premiership games in elite Australian rules football, only behind Craig Bradley (464, including 89 games in the SANFL with Port Adelaide).

As of 2025, only seven other players have achieved the feat of playing 400 elite Australian rules football (VFL/AFL, SANFL and WAFL) games: Kevin Bartlett, Peter Carey, Tuck, Bradley, Dustin Fletcher, Shaun Burgoyne, and Scott Pendlebury.

Harvey holds the record for most career bounces, with 1,055, and is the only player as of 2025 to have crossed the thousand-bounce threshold.^[9]

In 2022, Harvey was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.^[10]

Prior to the 2014 season, Harvey was listed as 167 cm. Midway through 2014, his height was updated to 172 cm, and for the 2015 season, his height was updated to 175 cm.^[11] In the 2016 season, he was listed as 177 cm.^[12]

^[13]

• Team
  • AFL Premiership (Kangaroos): 1999
  • McClelland Trophy (North Melbourne): 1998
  • NAB Cup (North Melbourne): 1998
  • AFL Reserves Premiership (North Melbourne): 1996
• Individual
  • E. J. Whitten Medal: 1999
  • Syd Barker Medal: 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010 (tied with Brady Rawlings)
  • All-Australian: 2000, 2005, 2007, 2008
  • Australian Representative Honours in International Rules Football: 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008 (C)
  • Jim Stynes Medal: 2003
  • Lou Richards Medal: 2007, 2008
  • Herald Sun Player of the Year: 2008
  • Archer–Hird Medal: 2009, 2011
  • North Melbourne F.C. Team of the Century
  • AFL Hall Of Fame (2022 Class)
  • North Melbourne Games Record Holder: 432

Harvey's grandfather Bill Harvey played two games for North Melbourne in 1948. His brother, Shane Harvey, played 14 games for Essendon and North Melbourne from 2002 to 2004.

In April 2023, Harvey broke his leg playing for North Heidelberg in the Northern Football League.^[14]

• List of VFL/AFL players to have played 300 games
• List of VFL/AFL records