EARLIER this year, Robert Harvey attended an Australian Institute of Sport/AFL Academy camp in an On the Couch-type format.

One of the 30 starry-eyed young men in front of him asked: "At what point did you feel like you had made it in the AFL?"

His answer was very frank, very simple and very Robert Harvey. "I've never felt that I have."

For me to sit there and hear that from a guy who I'd watched and admired over the years was amazing. I can only hope the message sank in to his audience because it underpinned the way Harvey approached his football.

When Harvey announced during the week that his distinguished AFL career would close at the end of this season, it gave everyone yet another opportunity to reflect on the size of his achievements.

Within those 21 seasons there is a lot to reflect on.

Some burn brightly in short careers and others grind away for longer, but rarely does someone maintain an elite level in such a tough industry for so long.

While Tony Shaw and Tim Watson were my heroes as a kid, Robert Harvey has been my favourite player and a hero to me since he entered the competition in 1988.

Shortly after Harvey's career began, St Kilda travelled to Darwin in 1990 to play in the local Australia Day match against the NTFL representative side. The team I played for, and my Dad coached, wore St Kilda colours and we hosted the team for a day or two during their stay.

On one of these days we took the Saints on a bus to a crocodile farm and I got the chance to tag along. I sat in the bus behind Harvs that day and couldn't stop staring at him. I was in awe.

Here was this kid of just 18 going into his third season of VFL. I was 17 at the time and I kept thinking "You're a freak; I'd love to be you."

Ironically, 20 years on, from the other side of the fence I still think exactly that!

In that time, I have watched and learned from the way Harvs has gone about his football on and off the field.

When all the skills of the game are considered and lined up in importance to ensure a successful career, the ability to work, both in games and in preparation, will always be near the top.

This is true no matter what era you find yourself in.

With guys like Harvey and Shane Crawford in the competition it became a constant source of motivation for me to push my own limits.

His ability to endure physical discomfort was legendary.

In my mind's eye, the pose that says it all for me is Robert Harvey at a stoppage hunched over, leaning on the bottom of his shorts, looking like he couldn't go a yard.

When I see this I'm reminded of how he continually reached deeper and deeper into his reserves to find the energy and the will to drive himself from contest to contest, leaving opponents in his wake.

I loved his ability to exhaust himself every time he pulled on the jumper. As simple as it sounds it isn't always the case.

While he could not have given more as an individual, and he has collected award after award, the one thing he most craves is something he cannot win on his own.

His premiership dreams have been well documented and it has provided extra motivation for him to stay in such great nick for so long.

While he enjoys universal respect in the football community, I can only imagine the driving force that his St Kilda teammates would now feel knowing that their legend has just one more crack at the ultimate.

Unfortunately, it is true — all good things do come to an end.

But, for me and for many others, the legacy of Robert Harvey will always live on. Once a champion, always a champion.