The fleet-footed winger showcased his prodigious talents throughout the carnival and was the popular choice to take out the prestigious award.
"It's a great honour to be awarded the Larke Medal," Bennell said.
"It's something that every boy who plays AFL football dreams of. It's a huge honour for me.
"I never thought I'd be here as a young kid growing up though. I was just playing the game to best of my ability and it's come off for me which is good.
"I kicked six goals in the first game so that was a great start for me. It really set me up and I've gradually built on that."
Bennell joins current AFL players such as Marc Murphy, Tom Hawkins, Cale Morton and Jack Watts in winning the medal.
The 180cm livewire thanked his mum for her support in helping him achieve his goals with his major aim - joining an AFL club - the next on the list.
"I just want to play AFL football. I don't mind where I go, I just really want to play," he says.
"I'm really close with my family, but playing the sport I love and having fun doing that will help me with that [if I move interstate]."
Bennell is heavily favoured to join the 2009 Larke Medallist, David Swallow, at Gold Coast as a top-three pick. Swallow, who is already playing with Gold Coast's VFL side, shared the prize with Western Bulldogs rookie Andrew Hooper.
AIS/AFL high performance coach Jason McCartney was glowing in his assessment of Bennell's carnival and his AFL prospects.
"Harley was clearly the dominant player throughout the championships, predominantly on the wing, with his run and carry," McCartney said.
"He's a great decision maker, uses the ball well and is very dangerous when he goes forward as well. He kicked six against SA in atrocious conditions.
"He'll play on the wing early [in his AFL career]. He can go forward and has played a little bit of half-back as well.
"He played senior WAFL footy late last year and early this year with Peel Thunder and before he went to South Africa, I think he was averaging 24 or 25 possessions in a side that was struggling."
