Mark Harvey Biography

Newly-appointed Essendon assistant coach Mark Harvey says he does not have aspirations to coach at senior level again.

"I've had my time as a senior coach," Harvey said.

"I'm more content now to really sit in on a football department and make sure that it operates the right way from what I've learnt as a senior coach.

"I'm happy doing that. I coach the way I know and operate."

Harvery says he is eager to re-enter the assistant coaching ranks after 12 months out of the game.

"It's good to be back home and working with the club that I've always been indebted to based on your playing career," he said.

"I sat back from afar and kept an eye on the place, (I'm) only too happy to come back and help out, and make sure this club moves on.

"I deliberately, this year, stepped away from football just to have the mental break, I'm only too keen to get back involved and work with players on a daily basis."

Mark Harvey returns to Essendon as a senior assistant coach.

"It's really exciting to be back at Essendon," Harvey said.

"After a year away from football, I feel really refreshed and energised about the role I can play to help the team succeed.

"We have some terrific talent on our playing list and I'm looking forward to working closely with Hirdy and the other coaches to support the players.

"It's an exciting time to be back in with the club I love and called home for so many years of my life. Pre-season is less than two weeks away, I can't wait to get in and start working."

Former Fremantle coach Mark Harvey has turned down an invite to attend the Dockers' 20-year anniversary dinner, claiming he doesn't feel comfortable returning to the club just yet.

"I just think I've got to keep my distance for a while," Harvey told Perth radio station 6PR.

"They're going through an interesting phase in their finals campaign, and they have been for the last couple of years.

"So I just think at this stage I should stay away. I speak to some of the players regularly, and that's probably where it stands at this stage."

David Mundy credits former coach Mark Harvey as the man who turned him into the damaging midfielder he has become.

"He saw something that not too many other people did and persevered for a little while," Mundy said about harvey.

"Half-back wasn't really working for me at that stage, so I think I needed a change.

"I feel like I am repaying that choice now. I'm playing some pretty good football now and (I'm) pretty consistent."

Kevin Sheedy has urged Mark Harvey to return to coaching.

"(You lifted) Fremantle to a position where they had a chance," Sheedy said.

"You're a great coach, you will be a great coach and don't forget that.

"You're a very important person in football and you will come back to coach an AFL club sooner rather than later.

"Never lose sight of that fact and it will be your decision, no one else's."

Brisbane Lions senior assistant Mark Harvey has left the club as a new coaching structure takes shape around recently appointed coach Justin Leppitsch.

Mark Harvey finds himself back in the role of senior coach after being installed as interim coach of the Lion following Michael Voss' dismissal.

Harvey leads the Lions to a 60-point victory over GWS in the first of three games as interim coach.

"It's been a difficult week in many ways," Harvey said.

"It's always hard to understand how the players are going to come out and react and play under those circumstances, it's very unique.

"We were happy with the way we pressured a young team, particularly early, and hit the scoreboard and reversed the mindset."

Despite the departure of Brisbane coach Michael Voss, Lions assistant coach Mark Harvey says he has no ambition to be a senior coach again.

"I've been a senior assistant coach and I've really grown in that job. That's where I see myself in football now," Harvey said.

"I've just made a decision that this is where I see my area of the game."

Lions assistant coach Mark Harvey says may be open to coaching again following Mark Need's departure at Melbourne.

"I've been through it. The question is whether you want to go through it again and put up with a lot of the crap that goes on at times," Harvey said.

"Coaching's a fascinating thing. I like to coach young players particularly and try to get the best out of them.

"I guess in time Melbourne will work it out, but there's obviously a number of other candidates that have been successful coaches that they're looking at first."

Matthew Pavlich says the club must now move forward with coach new Ross Lyon despite the controversial sacking of former coach Mark Harvey.

"When there's that type of situation occurring, I think internally there needs to be a group of people really showing that 'OK, this is what's happened, let's not talk about the past, let's get into action and let's worry about the future'," Pavlich said.

"It was a shame what happened, and certainly a shock for everyone, but the club saw it as - if you can in this sport - a non-emotive business decision that they wanted to have transacted and they moved upon that."

Mark Harvey says he would never hold secret talks about coaching a club while the club had a coach under contract.

"If I was asked by another club and that coach had a contract, I certainly wouldn't be entertaining it," he said on SEN radio.

"Obviously it was a shock, you try and understand why, then you've got to talk to your family about it and think about what might happen in the future.

"I guess in time as the days and months have gone on you get a clearer picture on things. People say football clubs are political, and they are … I wouldn't say I'm accepting of it, but there's an understanding of what can happen sometimes at a level where you're involved in high management.

Brisbane Lions coach Michael Voss has praised the influence of new assistant coach Mark Harvey at the club.

"When he (Harvey) got up and spoke [at a pre-season camp] he had a genuine presence about him, a genuine passion about what he does and expectation that we fight our way back to the top," Voss said.

The Brisbane Lions are keen to appoint Mark Harvey as a senior assistant to head coach Michael Voss.

"No doubt he would add a significant amount of experience and knowledge to our coaching team, and being a senior coach would be a terrific help to Vossie," Brisbane football manager Dean Warren said.

"He is very strong on strategy and analysis and will bring great match-day strengths. Our discussions have been pretty positive."

Former Fremantle coach Mark Harvey officially joins the Brisbane Lions as an assistant under Michael Voss.

"When I spoke to the club initially, I was impressed by the strong desire they showed in returning to the top and the processes and plans they have in place to ensure they reach it," Harvey said in a statement.

"They have a very talented and developing young list and it's clear they want sustained success."

Sacked Fremantle coach Mark Harvey has spoken of his shock at being fired at a meeting he thought was to plan for 2012.

"It didn't go for long. Maybe five minutes. There were a few questions that got raised and once I knew it was immediate I thought 'OK that's it' and walked out," Harvey said.

"There is confidentiality around all this but they made it known that they had another option and that turned out to be Ross [Lyon]."

Ross Lyon sensationally quits the Saints and will take over as Fremantle coach after the abrupt sacking of Mark Harvey.

"It was an extremely difficult decision to make but after lengthy consideration it is a decision that we believe is in the best interests of the long-term future of the Fremantle Football Club," Fremantle chief executive Steve Rosich said.

"We are very grateful for everything that Mark has done during his six years at the club and wish Mark all the best for the future, both personally and professionally."

The news comes only days after news reports of Lyon having agreed to a contract extension with the Saints.

"The St Kilda Football Club is disappointed that Ross Lyon will not be continuing as senior coach. Until this evening the club was engaged in constructive discussions with Lyon's management about his long term future at the Saints," a statement from St Kilda read.

Mark Harvey has told rival clubs trying to lure Aaron Sandilands away from Fremantle to not waste their time.

Hawthorn, in particular, has been rumoured to be interested in the ruckman.

"As far as Aaron goes, he's contracted until next year," Harvey said.

"People can talk and speculate as much as they like at the moment ... trade week's in about two months' time.

"What I would say to every other club out there is, 'Forget about talking about Aaron Sandilands, because you're wasting your time."

Fremantle coach Mark Harvey denies that he is punishing Paul Hasleby by giving the midfielder less game time after Hasleby refused to sign a new one-year deal and threatened to walk out on the club if not offered a two-year contract.

"That's one of those lovely stories that's done by external people," Harvey said.

"If you remember two weeks ago he had a calf injury that was nearly going to pull him out of the side, so we've got to make sure that doesn't re-occur."

Fremantle coach Mark Harvey says dumping utility Dean Solomon from the side for one week for unprofessional behaviour is part of an education process for his young side.

"Sometimes individuals will step over the line and with a young group we need to point them in the right direction. This is another example of that," Harvey said.

"We're trying to educate them through the best way to prepare to become an elite team."

Fremantle's needs for a small forward might see Hayden Ballantyne debut against Collingwood on Saturday.

"He plays at a really high tempo, so it wouldn't matter whether he played at WAFL level or AFL level, it would be the same risk," Fremantle coach Mark Harvey said about Ballantyne.

"If you have a look at Collingwood, and possibly sides that have beaten them this year, sometimes a small forward can hurt them."

Fremantle chairman Rick Hart says coach Mark Harvey is as "safe as anyone" and hopes to re-sign him after his contract expires at the end of 2010.

"Every club wants to have a long-term coach and he's in the box seat," Hart said.

"His development has been very good and we'll continue to monitor that progress, but the way he is developing you'd hope he would be a very long-term coach of Fremantle.

"The one standout is his ability and willingness to invest in the young blokes."

Fremantle coach Mark Harvey says the competition respects the club for bringing in 14 youngsters at the end of '08.

"I think our effort and our competitiveness have been accepted in some way, shape or form," he said.

"And a lot of the decision-making at the end of last year has been justified with the changing of the list and the changing of the guard.

"I'd like to think that people respect the courage of all of those decisions, by the club particularly."

Mark Harvey says the oppotunity to observe the Socceroos prepare for a match provided was an invaluable experience.

Harvey used the first week of the split round to gain a unique insight into the professionalism of an international sporting side as the Socceroos rounded out their successful World Cup qualification.

"It was a very good insight into a professional organisation," Harvey said.

"To see the discipline of the Australian European players who come back and to see how they operate [under] a Dutch coach ... I found it very interesting."

Fremantle rookie Clancee Pearce will play against Port Adelaide this weekend after injuries to Antoni Grover and Luke McPharlin.

"Three out of those four guys that are out are in our leadership group, which is significant," Fremantle coach Mark Harvey said.

"I don't think I've been through a list like this as in the injuries so early in the season.

"You find out a lot about your list and the resolve and what you can do when a lot of things aren't going right for you."

Adjusting to the pace of AFL football will be a challenge for Fremantle debutant Clancee Pearce, but Mark Harvey believes he will quickly find his feet.

"He brings a real toughness and honesty about the way he plays. He doesn't get fazed by who he's playing on," Fremantle coach Mark Harvey said.

If Ben Cousins succeeds in his race to recover from a broken hand, he may find himself in a race against Fremantle speedster Stephen Hill.

Dockers coach Mark Harvey indicated this afternoon 19-year-old Hill was likely to get the job on Cousins should the 2005 Brownlow Medallist front up for his Perth homecoming in Saturday night's clash at Subiaco Oval.

"If we are going to come of age as a team we have to challenge our younger players and sometimes put them on the best players of the opposition," Harvey said.

"I just fleetingly mentioned it on the way here and he just smiled and kept walking, like he always does.

"I think he plays with experience, even though he's only nine games down the track he doesn't get flustered and he backs himself in."

Fremantly may select Hayden Ballantyne this week, even though he has not played a competitive game this season.

"Ballantyne might be a guy that we might look at," Fremantle coach Mark Harvey said.

"He's had five months of running and training. Not football content, but five months of training."

Mark Harvey has called on critics to leave Terry Wallace alone amid reports the Richmond coach is battling stress-related health issues.

"I think we need to be a lot more remembering of the contribution of what Terry Wallace has done to the AFL and VFL," Harvey said.

"There's not too many guys that have done that but here we are seeing a regular day-to-day basis of the critical nature of how he's going about his coaching or whether he should or shouldn't stay.

"He's brought an enormous amount to the game and we shouldn't forget that."

Fremantle coach Mark Harvey says Des Headland may still play against Hawthorn on Friday night after being kept out of the side with a calf injury.

Fremantle coach Mark Harvey says Matthew Pavlich will continue to play an important role in the midfield as a mentor to his younger teammates.

"It's really important with these younger players that we're putting through the midfield, for Mathew to be there and guide them and make them understand about where the momentum of the game starts," Harvey said.

"When you play as a key forward and you're a dominant forward, what happens is the game is in front of you, you don't get it your way a lot of the time, because sides are so good at pushing back as soon as they lose control of the ball."

The only affect early season media barbs has had on Fremantle coach Mark Harvey is to drive him even harder toward success.

"I'm old school; mentally it doesn’t affect me," he said of the criticism.

"It actually drives me further to the depths of coaching where you need to try to get the best out of the playing group.

"That's how I see it. Do I get personal about things that are said? No, I don't. But sometimes I'll ring the person in the media and have a chat to them about their opinion, that's all."

Fremantle coach Mark Harvey says it is bewildering why people would suggest trading Matthew Pavlich.

The Dockers have so far struggled with a winless start to 2009.

"It's really too easy for guys in really high profile positions in the media to dissect a club and pull the club apart," Harvey said.

"From afar it can always be easy to have a look at Fremantle and quickly pull the trigger on everything about the club."

Mark Harvey believes the fun is being taken out of the AFL after the media frenzy over what turned out to be a harmless prank when Docker players dressed themselves up in white costumes resembling those worn by the Ku Klux Klan.

"They were having a bit of fun away from their normal routine of being a professional footballer," Harvey said.

"As you saw there was nothing in it but it was blown up to be something a lot more than what it was.

"I think we should draw the curtain on it and move on.

"They are only young players and young men, and they're under a lot of pressure but we are putting them under more pressure for no apparent reason."

Fremantle coach says the treatment being dished out to Richmond's Terry Wallace is unacceptable.

"To me that's unacceptable," Harvey said.

"To maybe editors it looks OK, but take into consideration Terry's family.

"You've always got to be mindful of what you say or do in the public domain whether you're in the media or you're a coach or a player. I think we are all held accountable for that.

"What's become quite interesting in the AFL is how quickly we tend to jump down what coaches are doing.

"I don't know whether that's because player behaviour is actually a lot better now and we tend not to be able to harp on that now, so we come back to coaches a little bit."

Fremantle rookie Greg Broughton has described his debut selection for Sunday's AFL clash with Adelaide at Subiaco Oval as a "dream come true".

"He doesn't get rattled and he has no fear about putting it on the line," Fremantle coach Mark Harvey said.

"He's dogged, determined, hates to be beaten and plays with the desire that you look for.

"Greg has also got a creative side to his game and has good composure for a guy who hasn't played at the elite level."

The development of Fremantle requires it to give young players as many opportunities as possible, says Mark Harvey.

Dean Solomon has learnt from his mistakes, but his natural aggression will be an asset for Fremantle, says Dockers coach Mark Harvey.

Fremantle coach Mark Harvey puts pressure on his senior brigade after the club's 63-point loss to the Bulldogs.

Dockers coach Mark Harvey has blasted his wayward charges, labelling their 63-point loss to the Bulldogs as unacceptable.

Fremantle coach Mark Harvey has warned opposition sides to expect the unexpected from his young charges as the Dockers embark on an AFL season burdened by few expectations.

Fremantle coach Mark Harvey has accused Carlton of using dirty ruck tactics as the fallout from Saturday's spiteful practice match continues.