Wayne Harvey scoring a goal against West Perth
Formidably built, extremely mobile, tremendous overhead, and a prodigious kick, Claremont’s Wayne Harvey should really have been one of the game’s all time greats, but lacked both the consistency and that bit of ‘devil’ that most if not all true champions possess. Nevertheless, he was a highly useful player, who for his performance in the winning 1964 Grand Final (reviewed here) alone warrants a prominent place in the Tigers’ ‘hall of fame’. Many observers rated Harvey, who booted five goals that day, as the most effective player on the ground, but he was controversially pipped to the Simpson Medal by East Fremantle’s Norm Rogers.
Between 1959 and 1970 Wayne Harvey played a total of 217 WANFL games. He also represented Western Australia four times. At his peak during the mid-1960s, he topped Claremont’s goal kicking list with 64 goals in 1964, 65 in 1965, and 56 in 1966.
Author – John Devaney
