The Roos, who had their slim finals hopes dashed by Hawthorn on Saturday, kicked six of the last eight goals of the match to celebrate their skipper’s milestone game with a 16.14 (110) to 14.10 (94) win.
Harvey, who became the fourth Kangaroo to play 300 games, wore a heavy tag all day from young Eagle Pat McGinnity but finished with 26 possessions and five inside 50s.
The 32-year-old was given a guard of honour by the Eagles and Kangaroos players and he was chaired off by teammates Brady Rawlings and Michael Firrito.
West Coast showed improvement despite missing a host of experienced players, but the club’s 12th loss in 13 games meant their last game at Subiaco Oval for the season was also their eighth straight loss at home - a club record.
Andrew Swallow (27 possessions and three goals) was superb for the Roos, while Aaron Edwards and Ben Warren also booted three goals each to drag their side back into the contest after a sluggish opening.
West Australian Daniel Wells relished the Subiaco space, winning 23 damaging possessions, while Cruize Garlett, Levi Greenwood and Ben Cunnington played key midfield roles, sharing 16 clearances between them.
Leigh Adams was on the end of a ruthless Beau Waters shepherd late in the first quarter, which landed the Eagles hard-man on report for charging, and North coach Brad Scott said the side got a lift out of Adams’ return.
“He is just a really highly-rated and respected player within our team so to see him go down made the boys very keen to respond,” Scott said after the match.
“We came back a bit in the second quarter, but in the third Leigh Adams really gave us the boost that we needed.”
Despite entering Sunday’s clash with his side out of finals contention, Scott said he held no grudge with Fremantle, which rested seven of its key players against Hawthorn on Saturday, knocking the Roos out of the finals race.
He said North’s season would not be declared a success and the players were not content after narrowly missing the eight.
“We understand the improvements we need to make as a football team, but I wouldn’t declare it a success,” he said.
“What it does with some of the mini-wins we've had is drives the players for next year and beyond. We know we're building, but we'll never be content until we are in the position that Collingwood, Geelong and St Kilda are in.”
For the Eagles, their best football was played early when Shannon Hurn and Waters drove them off half-back, while a number of young midfielders showed encouraging signs.
Missing senior onballers Matt Priddis, Adam Selwood and Daniel Kerr, youngsters Brad Ebert (25 possessions) and Scott Selwood (22) stood up, while Nic Naitanui (19 hit-outs) also had an impact.
Elevated rookie Callum Wilson booted four goals in an impressive performance.
Coach John Worsfold said the performance reinforced his confidence in the club’s young midfield, but their youth was a crucial factor in the final quarter fade-out.
“I don’t think you’d see a younger side than that out there today,” he said. “I don’t know if any side could have fielded a side like that this year.
“I think we had seven players with less than 10 games today, so they’re not seasoned players yet, they’re developing players, and that has a massive impact on your side.
“Now the challenge is to be able to carry that on for four quarters. That’s what we’ll work towards next year.”
West Coast 4.4 7.6 10.10 14.10 (94)
North Melbourne 1.4 6.10 10.13 16.14 (110)
GOALS
West Coast: Wilson 4, LeCras 2, Masten, Hurn, Waters, Selwood, Hams, Naitanui, Embley, Smith
North Melbourne: Wright 4, Edwards 3, Swallow 3, Warren 3, Wells, McIntosh, Thompson
BEST
West Coast: Hurn, Embley, Rosa, Cox, Shuey, Wilson, Selwood
North Melbourne: Swallow, Rawlings, Wells, Harvey, McMahon, Garlett, Wright
INJURIES
West Coast: None
North Melbourne: Adams (concussion, nose)
Reports: Beau Waters (West Coast) for charging Leigh Adams in the first quarter
Umpires: Margetts, Dalgleish, Schmitt
Official crowd: 32,007 at Subiaco Oval
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
