Together again: Harnett brothers return to ’Rocks
Anyone in the Western Lacrosse Association will tell you facing one of the Harnett brothers is a handful in itself. Put the two together and your grief becomes two-fold.
Two of the more reliable, hard-nosed defenders in the entire league, Jon and Greg Harnett are back in the fold with the defending Mann Cup-champion Victoria Shamrocks, who are also threetime league champions.
Both are still alive in the National Lacrosse League playoffs with the Calgary Roughnecks and both will be relied upon for leadership once their pro seasons run out and they return.
You might as well call the two Harnetts the Nasty Boys.
“We joke about it now, but it wasn’t fun,” younger brother Greg, 25, said of having to face Jon, 27, when he was a member of the Coquitlam Adanacs prior to joining the Shamrocks at the trade deadline three years ago.
“He’s a tough competitor to play against. He’s very talkative on the floor. We ended up losing that series [the 2012 playoffs when Coquitlam, third, knocked off Victoria, which was second]. It wasn’t fun at all. He’s a fierce competitor and he lets you know when he’s winning.”
And he also lets you know where he is on the floor at all times.
“I’d say we’re agitators, in a sense, but I think we play good defence and that throws off their right side,” added Greg. “I wouldn’t say we’re just completely agitators, we have some offence and other aspects to our game.
“We don’t like to be easy to play against. We take pride in making it tough on the other team and we’re not going to go out there and be easy on them.”
That’s a big part of lacrosse — intimidation and all-out nastiness, especially on defence.
“Every team has a few of them, so why not put your name in there and try to be the best at it, right?” said Jon. “Any little advantage we can get on the floor, either of us will take, and there are five or six other guys on this team who can play that type of game.”
The Shamrocks begin the season May 20 at home against Nanaimo. It will be a much different-looking team, especially early on with NLL playoffs continuing, but the Harnetts are two of several veterans returning.
“Obviously, it’s a different team, losing about 12 guys, but we have a lot of young guys coming in who are working real hard in training camp,” said Greg. “I think we’re going to be that hardworking team. We still have a lot of guys coming back in [Rhys] Duch, Smallsy [Corey Small] and Kinger [Jesse King]. It’s going to be a different look and we’re going to have to work hard this year to earn what we can get.”
The Harnetts certainly aren’t about to roll over, it’s just not part of the Orangeville Northmen products’ makeup.
“Absolutely, that’s the goal coming into the season,” Jon said of winning a fourth-straight WLA title (he’s been a part of all three like his younger sibling). “It’s on some of the older vets to carry the team early to allow the younger guys to get their feet under them.
“They’re great players and this is a whole new level, but they’re ready to play up to it. The first couple of games we’ll have to ease them into it as much as we can, but the goal is to go east [to the Mann Cup] in September. That’s definitely what we’re aiming for.”
CLOVER POINTS: Talented sniper Duch was expected to sign his contract with the Shamrocks on Wednesday night as he returns for the 2016 campaign.