Melbourne’s James Harmes is now an established AFL player who has become one of his club’s hardest working and most reliable.
But it wasn’t always this way.
It was a difficult beginning to life at the elite level after he was taken in the 2014 rookie draft.
His first season was spent in the VFL, and included a punctured lung, before he managed just eight senior games in 2015.
As a result, Harmes’ AFL career was on shaky ground but the midfield hard nut has explained how he quickly turned things around which has allowed him to rack up 91 games in the red and blue while placing in the top five in the last two Demons best and fairest counts.
“I was a bit immature, just an 18-year-old kid out of Clyde, so it took me a little while to get the concept of AFL,” Harmes said on SEN’s Off The Field with Jack Fitzpatrick.
“It was a good learning curve, my first year. I missed out on getting a (senior) game which fuelled the fire in my belly.
“I was still hanging out with my mates nearly every day and they weren’t AFL footballers, they are builders or plumbers and electricians. We’d go down to the pub and have a parma for dinner and that was the wrong thing for me.
“It took me a little while to learn that I was an AFL player and that I had to take the opportunity and really grasp it with two hands.
“I had to take control of my own career.”
Now a staple of Simon Goodwin’s side, Harmes was almost shown the door at one stage early on but has revealed he has some certain teammates to thank for helping resurrect his career.
“I was lucky that I was pretty good mates with some of the boys,” he added.
“Bernie Vince and Nathan Jones probably saved me a little bit there. They both really helped me in getting another year.
“It just taught me that I have to go in every day and work harder or else what’s been given to you can be taken away really quickly.”
The 24-year-old insists he has no regrets with how things commenced as it has allowed him to work hard on his craft and only made him enjoy the highs even more.
“I go into the club every day now and just try to get better. When I was younger, I didn’t realise that’s what I had to do to play at the next level,” he said further.
“I wouldn’t change anything. I’ve loved the way I’ve gone about my footy, I love the path that I’ve taken.
“It has taught me a lot over the years about adversity and how to prove some people wrong.”
Off The Field with Jack Fitzpatrick airs at 8am AEDT, Sundays on 1116 SEN and the SEN app. Thanks to Kennedys - Your complete industrial Maintenance Solution.
Tune in this weekend to hear Jack's interview with former hockey star and AFLW player Georgie Parker.
Listen to Harmes on Off The Field below: