So prepared was Harvey for starting life after footy that, in the middle of last year, he and wife Danielle and their three kids, Connor, Remi and Alyssa, uprooted from bayside Melbourne, where the couple had lived for about 13 years, and headed for the quieter surrounds of Mount Eliza. Harvey, at age 35, then signed on for a 20th year with the Saints.
Another pre-season, the rigours of weekly training sessions and matches have been nothing compared to the 45-minute drives he's had to make to and from Moorabbin since. They've been killing him.
"There's no way I would have moved if I knew I was going to play on," Harvey chuckled yesterday, speaking to The Age before he and his family flew to Perth, where he will play his 350th game on Sunday.
"It drives me mad - I hate it! I try every different radio station and CDs. I travelled up from Frankston initially, so I know that drive all too well. I don't like traffic at all."
Having had three weeks' lay-off with a hamstring injury, Harvey quite reasonably could have avoided making another long trip - this one by plane and separate from his teammates - last night.
Certainly, the fanfare around his 350th would have been greater had he held off until the Saints' home game against Richmond next weekend.
It's all very Robert Harvey. And on the eve of another milestone game, he looks his interviewer straight in the eye and says he doesn't know whether he will go around again next year, so he's hardly going to waste any opportunities to play now.
"I can honestly say I'm playing this year like it's going to be my last year, and that's honest.
"I could say, 'Yes, I want to play next year', but if I drop off, or do another hammy, or I start to struggle, it's not going to happen and nor should it. If I sit here and say, 'I'm going to play next year', it means nothing, or it means the same as me saying, 'I'm not going to or I'm a small chance to'.
"Regardless of what's happened in the first half of the year, it'll come down to the second half of the year. And there will be factors that will be outside of how I'm playing as well. Depending on how the team goes and what sort of policy they want to go with next year - there's a lot of factors that will come into that which I won't be standing in the way of at all.
"Motivation's not a problem. It never will be. Motivation is the easy part. But you can't play forever."
And so, with Harvey having been declared fit after a Wednesday training session in Melbourne, chaos reigned in his household yesterday afternoon.
Danielle scurried around trying to get the kids' hair cut, dropped off feline family member Sophie to a cattery and dog Archie to a friend's. The fish, she hoped, would survive the four nights without them.
During the speech Harvey made at his testimonial dinner last Saturday night, in front of 1200 people, he choked up twice. First, when he discussed the influence that the late, great Trevor Barker had on him as a junior. And later, when he mentioned his wife and kids.
Football might have prevented him from taking Easter holidays for 20 years and from being around every weekend like his kids' friends' dads, but Danielle Harvey says it's a rare morning when her whole family doesn't sit down together for breakfast. There also has been some serious family bonding going on of late, sparked by the guitar lessons Master Harvey had at the beginning of the year.
"Connor started playing at school, and then Rob got into it, so I bought him a guitar for Easter. He's really good!" Danielle enthused.
"Connor's given it away, but Remi's taken it up, and Rob and Remi practise every night. It's a nightmare - he does it every night while my favourite show's on! They can practise for up to an hour and a half. He's working on some Crowded House and Powderfinger songs. He's really into music and I think it's great for him because he's so sporty and so sports-minded, it's great for him to do something else.
"He's got a lot of layers - he still surprises me. He's a very determined person, but I do think football's taken up a lot - by choice of course - and it's his great love, but he's actually more creative than he seems. It's just an area he hasn't really explored."
Harvey says his wife has "always put a positive slant on things - in a really light-hearted way ... she's not heavy at all, it's all just 'go and do it'." He doesn't think Danielle has seen a full game in his 349 - "she goes, but she talks! She cannot stop talking!" - but doesn't think she need to. "I don't know, she's always had a great amount of faith in me and the kids and she's really open about saying it. She doesn't keep it in and I suppose in a way that's something that's a little bit different to me and I appreciate it."
Back to football, though, and specifically the Saints, who, Harvey says forlornly, have "underachieved" so far this season.
"It's been disappointing ... even with the personnel we've had out there. We've been very inconsistent, we haven't had any continuity in our list, especially our key defenders, and that really upsets your structures. And we've been a bit cautious with how we've moved the ball. That's not how Ross wants us to play, but for whatever reason, as players we've done that."
He speaks about the club's new coach as if he's the one who can steer St Kilda to its second premiership.
"I think he's going to be a great coach for us long-term.
"He's got some really basic things that he sees as essential that successful sides need, and I think whether it's later this year or next year or whatever, that the penny will drop with that, and we'll get better and it'll work out. That could happen really quickly. We're confident that it can.
"The main reason I'm confident about that is the amount of work and effort and the commitment he's putting in towards it. I know every coach would be the same, but I reckon the stuff that he finds important and the work that he does put into it is perfect stuff for a modern-day coach.
"It's more than I've seen, and it's new levels for our players, and I reckon in the modern-day game where opposition analysis is at a premium, he leaves no stone unturned."
He's got a great foundation with where he's been, and he's been doing it for 10 years. He knows the business, he knows what's required to win a flag and he knows how to implement it. I reckon he's perfect for it."
But can Harvey be part of it?
Despite being so outwardly calm, he is a chronic nail-biter. That elusive premiership cup has been a continuing source of angst, and it's perhaps in Harvey's fingertips that it manifests itself. The concept of retirement, after dedicating himself to St Kilda from the age of 16, has been a source of anxiety, too.
"I suppose it scares you because you're waiting for that big, I don't know, whatever it is that hits you and you can't play any more. Slowing down and not being able to keep up is scary. I suppose you're scared about finishing and not playing in a premiership, as well - that sort of compounds it a bit.
"But I've stretched it out pretty well, so it's not that scary to me any more. I can just go out and enjoy my footy and train hard and if I break down, well, that's OK, because it's been good to me."
The Harveys' eldest kids are learning Italian at school. Robert did the same when he was their age, and now has reason to get back into the books.
"That's the one regret I have. Even when I was younger and I wasn't married, apart from going on a footy trip to Bali or Hawaii I didn't go to Europe or America and do what I should have done.
"We've actually talked about living in Italy for a year or so. I'd love to go and do that, even for six months. We're half-committed to doing it."
It's the only unbelievable thing he says all interview. Since when has Robert Harvey been half-committed to doing anything?
Robert Harvey
Born August 21, 1971
Recruited from Seaford
Career matches 349
Career goals 211
HONOURS
Brownlow Medal: 1997, 1998
St Kilda best and fairest: 1992, 1994, 1997, 1998
St Kilda captain: 2001-02
All-Australian: 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003
International Rules series: 1998
EJ Whitten Medal (best Victorian player in state matches): 1992,
1993, 1996
AFL players association's most valuable player: 1997
Pre-season premiership teams: 1996, 2004
Michael Tuck Medal (best afield in pre-season grand final):
2004
SEASON 2007
Nine matches, four goals, 186 disposals (119 kicks), 58 marks
THE 350 CLUB
426 Michael Tuck (Haw)
403 Kevin Bartlett (Rich)
378 Simon Madden (Ess)
375 Craig Bradley (Carl)
366 Bernie Quinlan (Foots 177, Fitz 189)
359 John Blakey (Fitz 135, Kang 224)
356 Bruce Doull (Carl) Paul Roos (Fitz 269, Syd 87)
350 Doug Hawkins (Foots 329, Fitz 21)
ST KILDA LEGENDS NOMINATE THEIR TOP FIVE
Chloe Saltau
KEVIN "COWBOY" NEALE
Full-forward who kicked five goals in the 1966 grand final
win.
1. ROBERT HARVEY: "The longevity of Harvey has
been absolutely outstanding and he's played in an era that hasn't
been all that easy, all that successful. It's difficult to find a
better St Kilda player, with all that he has achieved over 20
years."
2. DARREL BALDOCK: "There wouldn't be a game go
past that he wouldn't do something that would leave you with your
mouth open. It's just a shame he wasn't six foot three because he
would have broken a million opposition hearts. He was
sensational."
3. IAN STEWART: "I never tried it, but Stewy was
the sort of bloke I could have led (to) with my eyes shut and my
arms out and he would have landed the ball on my chest. He was just
that skilled, and he was tough, backing into packs and getting up
again."
4. TONY LOCKETT: "When you look at his record, he
really was a great player."
5. ROSS SMITH: "You wouldn't get a better person,
or a better trier. He won a Brownlow Medal, didn't have the
superdooper skills of a Baldock or Stewart but he had other traits
that made him what he was. I played most of my 250 games with
him."
DANNY FRAWLEY
Tough defender and St Kilda's longest-serving captain.
1. ROBERT HARVEY: "Rob basically has stood the
test of time over 20 years, playing at the elite level and getting
tagged in probably 300 of those 350 games. And he has the ability
to bring other players into the game."
2. TONY LOCKETT: "He would have to come second,
just on pure talent and goalkicking ability over 15 years."
3. IAN STEWART: "He was a marking centreman with
elite ball skills and he was as tough as they come."
4. DARREL BALDOCK: "A five foot 10 centre
half-forward who captained the only premiership team. He was only
here for six years but he left an indelible mark on the game."
5. TREVOR BARKER: "I just think for a player of
his height to play key position in years when St Kilda weren't
great, to play the way he did. And people talk about the high
marks, which he was fantastic at, but he was the best tackler I've
ever seen."
DARREL BALDOCK
Captain for St Kilda's 1966 premiership and Harvey's first
coach.
1. ROBERT HARVEY: "I admired him when he first
started training; his skills, his courage, the full deal. He was a
schoolboy but you could see he was going to be (a champion).
Anything I say has been proved right anyway. He would have to be
the best."
2. IAN STEWART: "He was fearless and his disposal
on the left and right foot was excellent."
3. TONY LOCKETT: "He was such a dominant player,
being so big."
4. TREVOR BARKER: "He was a very good player. He
didn't live far away from me in Cheltenham and I gave him some
pigeons (one of Barker's passions was racing pigeons). He played
for such a long time and he took some spectacular high marks."
5. VERDUN HOWELL: "He's Tasmanian, so that's in
his favour. For his height, he was incredible and he walked
straight into full-back when he'd played most of his Tasmanian
football on a halfforward flank. He was such a brilliant high
mark."
BARRY BREEN
Played 300 games for St Kilda and kicked the winning point in
'66.
1. DARREL BALDOCK: "He was just the best ever,
simple as that."
2. IAN STEWART: "Three Brownlow Medals speak for
themselves. He was a great player, and not far behind Doc."
3. ROBERT HARVEY: "His longevity and two Brownlows
put him right up there. He's unassuming, a great fella."
4. TONY LOCKETT: "His goalkicking record speaks
for itself."
5. NATHAN BURKE: "He had a great work ethic and
made the most of his ability. A fantastic player."
STEWART LOEWE
Former games record-holder and captain.
1. TONY LOCKETT: "We played in similar positions,
so he was someone I always looked up to. He was just such an
awesome impact player and for a man of his size, I haven't seen a
guy with better foot skills than him."
2. ROBERT HARVEY: "His work ethic, his ability to
get to so many contests, and he is an absolute perfectionist on the
training track. He is a matchwinner as well."
3. NICKY WINMAR: "Sheer brilliance. He could play
tall, carry the footy and turn a game in the space of five minutes.
In his prime, he was just awesome."
4. NATHAN BURKE: "He had a huge work ethic. He
wasn't the quickest or the biggest jumper or the most skilful
player, but his tenacity and his ability to shut down opponents and
find the footy himself were sensational."
5. TREVOR BARKER: "I only played towards the end
of his career but he was a great leader, my first captain at the
club. His high marking and his tackling were sensational and he was
a great role model."
JOHN BEVERIDGE
Veteran St Kilda recruiter who, as development officer in 1986,
invited a 14-yearold Harvey into a junior squad.
1. ROBERT HARVEY: "For longevity of performance,
for a start, and all the awards he has won over the years - the
All-Australian honours, the two Brownlows, the three E.J. Whitten
Medals. He has stood the test of time and has the ability of a
champion."
2. TONY LOCKETT: "He was an absolutely dominating
full-forward. For the numerous bags of goals and matchwinning
performances he produced, and for becoming the all-time leading
goalkicker in the game. His power and speed were quite
remarkable."
3. IAN STEWART: "I didn't see as much of Ian
Stewart and Darrel Baldock but I bow to those who have seen them
and always rated them in the top three or four players at St Kilda.
Stewart won two Brownlow Medals (at St Kilda) and was outstandingly
skilled and brave."
4. DARREL BALDOCK: "The brilliance of Baldock; I
mean he was about five foot nine-and-a-half playing centre
half-forward. He was a great leader and again I bow to people who
have seen more of him than me who consider him one of the greatest
St Kilda players of all time."
5. NICKY WINMAR: "He was the first indigenous
player to play 200 games. He had wonderful balance and athleticism,
and he was a wonderful player to watch."
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