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Harley and Scarlett well matched
By Martin Blake
May 20, 2004
Geelong's Tom Harley, right, and his fellow defender Matthew Scarlett.
Tom Harley's journey to 100 games of AFL football has been fractionally more bumpy than that of Matthew Scarlett, his close mate and the man with whom he will share the honour against Essendon this weekend.
Harley played three minutes of a game for Port Adelaide in 1998, had one kick, was dropped and soon traded to Geelong at coach Mark Williams' behest for a draft pick, departing his native Adelaide. "It was a fleeting moment," he said yesterday. "That's the way it goes."
United at Geelong in 1999 - where Scarlett was a year into tracing of the footsteps of his father, John, a 183-game Geelong full-back - they would travel every step of the journey to 100 games together.
At Geelong, they will see this as perfectly appropriate, for Scarlett and Harley are full-back and centre half-back, underpinning a team that has been built from the back by Mark "Bomber" Thompson. And they are close friends, soon to be neighbours.
Scarlett lives at Torquay in a house his teammates call The Oasis; Harley is building a new home nearby. "He tried to buy the house next door, but it got sold," joked Scarlett yesterday, in a rare interview.
Harley is studying for a commerce degree at university, plays guitar and is opening a bar/restaurant in Geelong with teammates Steven King and Kent Kingsley; Scarlett won't listen to his strumming, calls Harley "weird" and prefers indulging in a spot of property investment in his spare time.
But they are close. "We are different people but we're great mates. We enjoy each other's company," Scarlett said.
Racing each other to the century, Harley had a foot injury last year which allowed Scarlett to make up some ground, so that they will hit the finish line together.
Scarlett has kicked one more career goal, a fact Harley quipped he might try to correct this weekend. "I might have to sneak down this week and try and get one. But I'm rapt to share it with Scarlo, because our careers have taken a similar path and we've got a great relationship both on and off the field."
On weekends, they form one of the most efficient pairings of key defenders in the competition. Scarlett told Harley before last week's game against Melbourne that he would get a best-on-ground against David Neitz, and he did. Is he making promises this week? "I do that every week," said Scarlett.
Melbourne went inside its 50-metre arc 20 more times than Geelong but could not find a winning score. With Scarlett keeping Neitz goalless and Harley haranguing Russell Robertson into submission, this should not surprise anyone.
"We're tight down there," said Scarlett. "The forward line and midfield guys are jealous of how tight we are."
This week it is Essendon and the Matthew Lloyd-Scott Lucas combination. It is a throwback to another era, and Alf Brown's Friday night previews in the old Herald. It is the best against the best.
As ever, they will go into battle together. It is as well. Scarlett says they have driven each other to what they have become. "I reckon he (Harley) is one of the most courageous players I've ever seen. The other thing that stands out is his work-rate. He's probably the most respected player at the club, I reckon."
Harley says he learns from Scarlett all the time, and that his teammate is "without doubt the best defender in the league". He would like to be "half as good" as Scarlett.
It is his loyalty that he admires. "If you look at his friendship circle, he probably only lets in the bloke who has the characteristics he likes in people. Once you can say you're a mate of Scarlo's, he's as loyal as they come."
And his drive, too. "I've never seen anyone more competitive. He never gives in and he'll do anything for you out on the field."
Both players credit Geelong assistant coach Brendan McCartney with much of their success. McCartney took them under his tutelage early on, and remains a friend as well as mentor. Scarlett said he "would not be here" if it were not for McCartney.
Harley tells an old tale. "After we'd played 10 games each we were at training and he (McCartney) said to us: 'You guys better get used to kicking to each other because you'll be doing it for a long time'. And so far it's been that way."
By Martin Blake
May 20, 2004
Geelong's Tom Harley, right, and his fellow defender Matthew Scarlett.
Tom Harley's journey to 100 games of AFL football has been fractionally more bumpy than that of Matthew Scarlett, his close mate and the man with whom he will share the honour against Essendon this weekend.
Harley played three minutes of a game for Port Adelaide in 1998, had one kick, was dropped and soon traded to Geelong at coach Mark Williams' behest for a draft pick, departing his native Adelaide. "It was a fleeting moment," he said yesterday. "That's the way it goes."
United at Geelong in 1999 - where Scarlett was a year into tracing of the footsteps of his father, John, a 183-game Geelong full-back - they would travel every step of the journey to 100 games together.
At Geelong, they will see this as perfectly appropriate, for Scarlett and Harley are full-back and centre half-back, underpinning a team that has been built from the back by Mark "Bomber" Thompson. And they are close friends, soon to be neighbours.
Scarlett lives at Torquay in a house his teammates call The Oasis; Harley is building a new home nearby. "He tried to buy the house next door, but it got sold," joked Scarlett yesterday, in a rare interview.
Harley is studying for a commerce degree at university, plays guitar and is opening a bar/restaurant in Geelong with teammates Steven King and Kent Kingsley; Scarlett won't listen to his strumming, calls Harley "weird" and prefers indulging in a spot of property investment in his spare time.
But they are close. "We are different people but we're great mates. We enjoy each other's company," Scarlett said.
Racing each other to the century, Harley had a foot injury last year which allowed Scarlett to make up some ground, so that they will hit the finish line together.
Scarlett has kicked one more career goal, a fact Harley quipped he might try to correct this weekend. "I might have to sneak down this week and try and get one. But I'm rapt to share it with Scarlo, because our careers have taken a similar path and we've got a great relationship both on and off the field."
On weekends, they form one of the most efficient pairings of key defenders in the competition. Scarlett told Harley before last week's game against Melbourne that he would get a best-on-ground against David Neitz, and he did. Is he making promises this week? "I do that every week," said Scarlett.
Melbourne went inside its 50-metre arc 20 more times than Geelong but could not find a winning score. With Scarlett keeping Neitz goalless and Harley haranguing Russell Robertson into submission, this should not surprise anyone.
"We're tight down there," said Scarlett. "The forward line and midfield guys are jealous of how tight we are."
This week it is Essendon and the Matthew Lloyd-Scott Lucas combination. It is a throwback to another era, and Alf Brown's Friday night previews in the old Herald. It is the best against the best.
As ever, they will go into battle together. It is as well. Scarlett says they have driven each other to what they have become. "I reckon he (Harley) is one of the most courageous players I've ever seen. The other thing that stands out is his work-rate. He's probably the most respected player at the club, I reckon."
Harley says he learns from Scarlett all the time, and that his teammate is "without doubt the best defender in the league". He would like to be "half as good" as Scarlett.
It is his loyalty that he admires. "If you look at his friendship circle, he probably only lets in the bloke who has the characteristics he likes in people. Once you can say you're a mate of Scarlo's, he's as loyal as they come."
And his drive, too. "I've never seen anyone more competitive. He never gives in and he'll do anything for you out on the field."
Both players credit Geelong assistant coach Brendan McCartney with much of their success. McCartney took them under his tutelage early on, and remains a friend as well as mentor. Scarlett said he "would not be here" if it were not for McCartney.
Harley tells an old tale. "After we'd played 10 games each we were at training and he (McCartney) said to us: 'You guys better get used to kicking to each other because you'll be doing it for a long time'. And so far it's been that way."
