Richmond VFL star Harry Scott has watched on as former teammates Tom McCarthy, Sam Davidson and Archer May have all had their AFL dreams come true over the past two years. Now the 21-year-old is ready for his chance.
Glandular fever and a torn quad derailed the Gippsland Power product’s draft year in 2023 but Scott knew he had more left to prove. Despite still feeling minor effects of the illness to this day, Scott has established himself as one of the premier midfielders in the VFL over the past two seasons.
He’s averaging 22 disposals and 6.8 tackles per game this year, and was Richmond’s most prolific player in the Tigers’ loss to Williamstown at the weekend with 26 touches, 11 tackles and seven clearances.
Scott admits it’s been “a little frustrating” watching his mates get drafted but says it’s only driven him harder to get there. “They deserve it and they’re obviously killing it at AFL level,” he told 7NEWS.com.au. “But I feel like I can also impact at that level. It’s just trying to get that opportunity, which comes down to how well you’re playing. I’ve just got to keep staying consistent.”
The 188cm extractor started on the wing in his first year at VFL senior level last year before his move inside sparked the breakout that saw him finish top five in the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal as the league’s most promising young talent.
Scott attracted interest from Port Adelaide, Brisbane, Fremantle, Richmond and St Kilda, and was invited to the state combine, but missed out on the mid-season and national drafts in 2025. This year, he feels like he’s as close as ever.
“I’m just trying to keep staying consistent and keep doing what I’m doing,” Scott said. “Be clean, one-touch player, explode out of contest, and try to become more of a clearance-dominant player, which I’m doing these last couple of weeks. I just want to keep building on that.”
Scott models his game on Geelong hard-nut Tom Atkins. “I’m probably not as tough as he is,” Scott said of Atkins. “But just his first possession stuff and his tackle pressure, he doesn’t look flashy when he’s out there, but you have a look at the stats at the end of the game, he’s got eight clearances, 10 tackles, and he’s getting all these other teammates involved in the game. So that’s probably the player that I’m trying to be like. But then obviously want to improve my outside game as well.”
Glandular fever robbed Scott of months of footy in his draft year and contributed to his subsequent quad issues. “Then obviously that has some long-term effects with like chronic fatigue and stuff, which was a bit rough,” Scott said. “And then when I did come back up (I) tore my quad first game back, which put me out for another six weeks, which was frustrating. I still played a fair few games in my top-age year but I just couldn’t get any continuity with my body. I probably lost eight kilos, so my body was completely out of whack when I started coming back to running and doing weights and footy again. And then that’s probably exactly why I tore my quad, because I just lost so much muscle mass and weight and then tried to get straight back into it and obviously hurt myself. So yeah, and then obviously the chronic fatigue probably lingers around for a fair while after, which is something you’ve just got to live with. I definitely still feel effects of it. I reckon for at least the first year and a half after, I was pretty tired all the time. Even if you have a late night, you feel it the next day. Just tired all the time.”
The midfield bull was a star basketballer as a kid, representing Vic Country at under-16 level, but chose to pursue footy. Determined to leave no stone unturned, that’s also the same time he engaged the help of HAD Football, which provides tailored development programs for AFL and AFLW hopefuls.
“HAD just has so many resources that I can use if I ever need extra training sessions or programs written up for me. It just makes life a lot easier,” Scott said. “And it’s tailored, so it’s specific to my needs at the time. And then obviously they have connections with AFL clubs and recruiters as well, which is so helpful to kind of see what you need to work on.”
HAD director Brad Jenkinson has been working with Scott for five years, and says the youngster has AFL traits. “He’s already proven VFL player — we’ve seen development year-on-year,” Jenkinson said. “His hands are incredibly clean, especially below his knees. They talk a lot about role-players now, so you might have your best midfielder, but how do we support that player? And that’s where I think that Harry fits in really nicely. He’s so creative with his hands, and if you get that outside midfield around him, he brings out their attributes as well.”
