JAMES Harmes says a focus on winning contested ball and tackling was the key to his strong performance in Melbourne’s win over the Gold Coast SUNS.
The wingman was named the NAB AFL Rising Star nominee for round seven after collecting a career-high 26 disposals and kicking three goals against the SUNS on Saturday.
“I’m pretty happy with how I went on the weekend – a few weeks before that I probably wasn’t at my best,” Harmes said.
“On the weekend I got back to winning contested ball and tackling and that’s my game, so I was happy with how I went.
“It was a great win for the boys on the weekend [and] we had a spread of goal kickers so it was good to see some of the younger guys kicking a few goals.”
Following Melbourne’s loss to St Kilda in round six, Harmes said he’d looked to get back to his contested style of football on the weekend.
The approach paid off, with the 20-year-old collecting 14 disposals in the first quarter against the Suns.
“It (the St Kilda game) probably wasn’t my best game for the year and I had a bit of feedback from the coaches of what they wanted me to work on,” Harmes said.
“I was happy that I could go out there and implement that on the weekend and the ball just came to me a bit in the first – I was pretty lucky.
“But it’s just great to be playing good footy and it’s great to be winning.”
The road to regular AFL matches hasn’t been an easy one for Harmes.
After playing in the TAC Cup for the Dandenong Stingrays, the midfielder missed out on selection in the 2013 NAB AFL Draft.
After Melbourne selected him with its first pick (no. 2 overall) in that year’s Rookie Draft, the youngster spent his first season at Casey Scorpions, before breaking through for his debut in 2015.
“I had to work pretty hard to get to where I am today – I started on the rookie list three years ago so [it’s taken] a lot of hard work and a lot of extras to be where I am today,” he said.
“It’s been a good journey so far and hopefully I can keep it up.
“Never give up, is the biggest thing I’ve learned. I missed out on the national draft in 2013 and had that mentality of ‘never give up’ and persist every day to get the best out of myself.”
Having broken into the team as a forward late in 2015, this season has seen Harmes move onto the wing, with the aim to push for midfield time in the future.
“Last year I was predominantly forward, but this year I’ve gone onto the wing and I’ve started to play better footy there,” he said.
“So it’s good to start trying to push into the midfield because I think that’s where I’ll probably play my future footy for the club.”
While Harmes is also known for his strong overhead marking and knack for kicking timely goals, the wingman said his focus remained on his work around the contest.
“I do like to try and take a big mark and kick a goal, but usually if I’m winning contested ball and tackling, then that’s when I’m playing my best footy,” he said.
“So hopefully I can keep doing that and the goals and marks will come.”
