THURSDAY, JUNE 11

Morning:

Harry spends the first part of the morning with his wife and three young kids. "The kids were rowdy pretty early this morning. The two older ones are right into jumping around and carrying on. That's okay. It's great to spend a bit of time with them before I'm away for a couple of days."

Then it's off to the club to start his pre-game routine. "I made sure I was out of the house relatively early. I was off doing a few jobs and then went to the club and did what is the normal routine for me when we travel. I did some weights, some mobility work, then had a bit of a look at some video edits of the opposition."

Following a hearty lunch provided by the club, it's onto the bus for the trip to Melbourne Airport. "It's good fun on the bus," Harry says. "We carry on with a bit of banter during the hour or so it takes us to get there. The banter is the thing I really enjoy on these types of trips. We often end up reflecting on things that have happened in the past or talk about what might happen in the future. That banter is what I'll miss once I give away the game."

Afternoon:

After piling off the bus at the airport, most of the players head straight to the Virgin Australia lounge, but Harry pauses to do a press conference with reporters from Channels 7 and 9, a couple of radio stations, The Age newspaper and AAP. He talks up Geelong's chances of upsetting the Power, then heads off to join the other boys in the lounge.

Harry receives his boarding pass from team manager Ben Waller

The flight to Adelaide takes just over an hour. Harry and his teammates are collected by the team bus at the airport and taken to Adelaide Oval for a light training session. "I think it's important to do something physical after the flight. In this case, it's good to get a look at Adelaide Oval because we've only played there once before. I'm a defender who likes to read the ball, so it's important for me to understand the conditions I'm going to play in – where the gaps in the stadium that the wind can come through."

Harry gets a handball away during the light run at Adelaide Oval

The training session starts at around 4pm and lasts for less than an hour. The team bus then takes the players to their accommodation, the Playford Hotel, where they have a shower before gathering for dinner. "Our nutritionist travels with the team, and the meal the night before the game is the standard sort of stuff you'd expect a footballer to eat: pasta, protein, veggies and plenty of water."

Evening:

After dinner, it's time for the pre-game meetings. Because the Cats are coming off a six-day break, they have done very little together prior to arriving in Adelaide. In fact, most of the South Australian players have spent the previous couple of days at home. As a result, the team meeting starts with a review of the big win over Essendon in round 10, then moves onto preparing for Port Adelaide. "We usually wouldn't be talking about the past this late in the week, but it was good to tick off that box and move on quickly. This is a bit of a different routine for us, having our key meeting the night before the game, but we learn to adapt. We're pretty flexible."

What makes a good team meeting? "Simplicity is key," Harry says. "The coaches watch hundreds of video edits, collate all those during the week, and then basically they have to present the style of play that is expected from the opposition using the least number of those edits as possible. They need to make it a meeting of substance but they need to make sure the meeting doesn't go forever. Trying to get that balance is an important part of being a coach. For me, as a player, simplicity works well."

The first team meeting involves all the players and coaches, then they split off into line meetings. Harry heads over to a table with all the defenders. Their meeting is run by backline coach Dale Amos. "The first team meeting is more generic, then our line meeting is all about how the opposition forwards are expected to structure up."

The meetings are over and done with in around an hour. Then the players are free to do as their please. Harry heads off to his room to continue his preparation. "I usually go for a walk, then get some ice delivered to my room and have an ice-bath. The ice-bath is something I generally do back home as well. Then I read a book and head off to sleep. I'm reading a book called The Way of the SEAL: Think Like an Elite Warrior to Lead and Succeed by ex-US Navy Commander Mark Divine. It's not a biography or an autobiography, which is a bit rare for me, it's more of a learning book, talking about leadership and success."

FRIDAY, JUNE 12

Morning:

It's Harry's 29th birthday! "My family called me pretty early in the morning, which was nice. Then I got down to the breakfast room at 7am, but it wasn't open until 7.30, so I had to sit around for a bit. After breakfast, I did a bit of study for the university courses I'm doing, which is what I like to do before most night games. It takes my focus away from footy. Then the NBA finals were on, so that gave me something to watch for a couple of hours."

Afternoon:

Harry decides to head off to a pre-game lunch at Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant in King William St to celebrate his birthday. "I thought I'd spoil myself. I was just on my own. I had a cranberry juice and a three-course meal, with pasta for the main. It was very nice. Then I went back to the hotel and watched the movie Fury, which was good."

Evening:

All the players gather in for a pre-game meal at around 4.30pm. But Harry doesn't need much food after his big lunch. "I have filled up prior to now. Even fluid-wise I'm pretty well set now. I'm feeling good I'm feeling ready to go. It's just a matter of going through my routine until game-time."

Some tuna and cheese on toast is Harry's pre-game snack

The team bus takes the players to Adelaide Oval. They arrive at 5.20pm, two hours before the first bounce. "I like to get to the rooms early, at least two hours before the game. It makes me feel relaxed once I'm at the ground. Nothing worries me too much from there. During the warm-up on the ground, I like to get one of the coaches to kick a few high balls up before the game, so I can see how the wind is impacting on the flight of the ball. I also look at the weather forecast before the game."

Harry warms up for the game with some rapid-fire handballs in the rooms

The game is a triumph for the Cats. After leading by seven points at half-time, they kick 6.4 to 4.0 in the second half and score a famous 23-point win. The victory is made more meritorious by the fact they lost James Kelly to an ankle injury in the first quarter and ruckman Rhys Stanley to a foot problem in the third term.

Having played well across half-back, tallying 14 disposals and eight marks, Harry wears a broad grin in the rooms after the game. "It was a really memorable game, one that in years to come you reflect back and you remember those types of wins. We haven't played well interstate for a while, so to get the four points away from home was important for our group and important for our season. It was really wet-weather football. The ground was very slippery. We had to adjust and I thought we did that very well. I'm just really proud of the effort of everyone involved tonight. It was a big game and we did well."

Harry belts out the club song with his teammates after the gutsy victory

Harry has a post-game massage. "I steer away from ice-baths after the game. I feel that after games my core temperature drops quite a bit. If I have an ice-bath I find it really hard to get my core temperature back up. I do quite a bit of stretching and try to stay pretty mobile."

The players wearily climb onto the team bus around 90 minutes after the final siren. They head back to the hotel for a post-game meal. There is a celebratory atmosphere as the boys enjoy their tucker. "Getting food and fluid in after a game is very important, and then you have to be able to switch off and get a good sleep," Harry says. "I've done a lot of yoga to help with that. It's about learning to slow down your breathing and forget about the game, in a way. Because once the game has happened, there's not much you can do about it. You just need to calm down and yoga has really helped me with that. I've been doing it for eight years now."

SATURDAY, JUNE 13

Morning:

Harry is up and about for breakfast at 8am. The players, coaches and support staff trickle into the dining room. Everyone is in a good mood. "It's important to have a big breakfast and drink as much as a I can," Harry says.

At 10.15am everyone piles onto the team bus and the journey home begins. Most of the travelling party grabs a coffee in the Virgin Australia lounge at Adelaide Airport, then it's time for the flight back to Melbourne. Harry does a quick phone interview with a radio station before the flight. There is an atmosphere of quiet satisfaction among the players, coaches and support staff on the flight to Melbourne. Harry has a good stretch when he disembarks in Melbourne, then climbs aboard a bus for the final leg of the journey back to Geelong. He is conscious of making sure he is right to go when the boys are due back at the club on Monday. "I try to stay pretty mobile during the day and then make sure I get a really good night's sleep. I start to get pretty sore around 24 to 36 hours after the game. It's about doing everything you can after the game to prevent that soreness from becoming a major factor."

Afternoon:

Harry arrives home to his family in Geelong around mid-afternoon. It has been one of the favourite trips of his career.