North Adelaide big man Mitch Harvey has taken out the 2024 Ken Farmer Medal as the SANFL's leading goalkicker, holding off Aiden Grace with a three-goal performance against West Adelaide on Saturday.
Despite narrowly missing finals for the second consecutive season, the Roosters veteran finished with 45 goals from 18 games, finishing three ahead of Bulldogs sharpshooter Grace.
It caps a remarkable transformation for Harvey, who was recast as a key forward early in the season after spending several years as the Roosters' primary ruckman.
While North have suffered a season marred by inconsistency, Harvey's reliability has remained a constant, hitting the scoreboard in all 18 games and kicking multiple goals in 15 matches.
A strong back end of the season in which Harvey snagged back-to-back five-goal hauls against eventual finalists Central District and Glenelg helped propel him to the prestigious medal.
He sat four goals clear of Grace going into the last round, with the Bulldog's four majors against Port Adelaide not enough to get him across the line.
Harvey's feat is even more meritorious considering he has still spent significant time in the ruck, providing a solid backup to Matt McKenzie and Dyson Hilder.
His accuracy in front of goal has been a feature all season, kicking 45.19 as he remains one of the most reliable set-shot kicks in the competition with his simplistic yet effective routine.
Drafted out of North Adelaide to Port Adelaide with Pick 45 in the 2013 National Draft, Harvey spent two years at Alberton without an appearance at AFL level before returning to the Roosters in 2016.
Originally a key forward who could spend some time in the ruck, Harvey was thrown into a permanent ruck role in 2021 and emerged as one of the best ruckmen in the competition.
After losing their first two games to start the 2024 season, North threw around the magnets and put Harvey back to full forward, where he started off kicking four goals against Sturt and never looked back.
Central District spearhead Grace enjoyed a terrific campaign to remain snapping at Harvey's heels for much of the season, finishing on 42 goals from 18 games.
Glenelg skipper Liam McBean roared home to finish third on 38 goals, kicking a bag of six and five goals in his last four matches after an indifferent start to the season.
After being pushed forward for last season's finals series, Sturt's Connor McFadyen enjoyed his first full season up front and finished equal-fourth with Woodville-West Torrens' Connor Ballenden on 32 goals.
