When you mention Tom Harley’s uninterrupted sequence of senior games to the man himself, he searches for something wooden and knocks on it earnestly.

Perhaps surprised by his impressive tally of matches, the 24 year-old Geelong defender seems genuinely concerned that a mere reference to the 76-game run will jinx him and interfere with his somewhat blessed career.

Harley is a talented footballer, and one who has forged himself as an automatic selection in his side at that. But you get the feeling the articulate commerce student who enjoyed his career-best season last year, would be happily occupied without the game.

“When I was at school I was never going to play AFL footy. It just sort of happened,” he told afl.com.au.

“It’s a hobby, and I love doing it and I’m grateful for what I’ve got, but I’d like to think that at the end of the day I’ve got more to life than just football.”

“I didn’t see this happening when I was 18, and if I wasn’t playing footy I would have graduated by now and be working probably in the job that maybe I’ll be doing in ten years time.”

“I don’t see that making my whole entire living out of footy is something I want to do. I’ll play footy now and I won’t hold clubs to ransom for prices of contracts and that kind of stuff. I’m just grateful for what I’m getting now because it’s a bit of a bonus.”

For all his own consistency, Harley’s six-year career has been littered with a number of unexpected and significant events.

He made his AFL début with Port Adelaide in 1997, in what would be his only game for that club. By chance, it was against Geelong, and just for good measure Harley kicked the first of his now seven career goals against his future side.

Harley believes his eventual recruitment to Victoria was also fortunate. Former Cats coach Gary Ayres was the force behind it, having watched the teenager run around at a country oval in South Australia years earlier.

“I wouldn’t have thought he’d have a clue who I was, but he watched me when I was in under-18 or under-17 and I must have played alright that day. It was some random under-19s game miles out of Adelaide.”

Coincidentally, Ayres resigned almost simultaneously with Harley’s arrival in 1999. Around the same time, club hero and captain Leigh Colbert left the Cats and the club announced a $9 million dollar debt.

With all the tumult that was surrounding his new club, Harley felt compelled to prove himself immediately under a new coach.

“When I first came I thought this is probably going to be a make or break thing for me, so I really knuckled down and sought out the role model types.”

Those “types” he mentioned were former-skipper Ben Graham, club veteran Tim McGrath and former Adelaide and Collingwood player Brenton Sanderson.

Perhaps by virtue of the young list Mark Thompson inherited, Harley and Matthew Scarlett - now one of the best defenders in the competition - were handed some tough assignments.

“Matty Scarlett and I pretty much came in at the same time and he threw us into the deep end a bit on the really good forwards. Occasionally we’d get absolutely flogged but he kept persevering,” Harley reflected.

“He (Thompson) gave me some tougher jobs than Ayres did.”

Some time over that five-year period, the pair progressed from being relative novices to the automatic selections they have become each week.

“I don’t look too far ahead, seriously,” Harley insisted. “I’ve got a fair bit of belief in my own ability, but as soon as you start thinking you’re an automatic selection, you might not be.”

“You’re only ever two or three bad games out of the side. So I try not to have too many of them in a row, and I’ve been pretty lucky I think.”

And while some would argue Harley’s leadership qualities are innate, he modestly attributes them to a sense of necessity rather than instinct.

“I think I’ve got a pretty good work ethic, on and off the field and with such a young list you don’t really put it out there and say this is what you should do, but hopefully they can see what you do, and how important the whole footy thing is to you and might take on the same sort of approach.”

“Obviously I’m still learning as well, learning the whole game.”