STRENGTHS:

+ Vertical leap
+ Explosive speed
+ Aerial ability
+ Versatility
+ Penetrating kick
+ Strength
+ Groundballs

IMPROVEMENTS:

- Kicking precision
- Endurance

PROFILE:

The crux of Havana Harris' game centres around her athleticism. Focusing in on her jumping, Harris is arguably - though there is little doubt she is - one of the best vertical players in the draft crop. She dominated Preseason Testing up in Queensland with a 70cm running vertical jump, a number that would have won her the test at the National Draft Combine had she tested.

Whether it is flying for a mark or going up in a ruck contest, Harris' vertical leap is hard to match unless her opponent is an equally tall and athletic player (such as Davies). The Bond University star's athletic profile does not stop there though, with an explosive burst that should not be possible for a player of her height. Once she wins the ball and sees space, she takes off in a split second, and there are few who could run her down.

Harris backs herself to take on anyone with her speed, and she has grown almost a full centimetre since the preseason, so now stands at 182cm. Whether she is in the ruck or playing midfield, she is a nightmare for the opposition because of her breakaway speed.

One of the subtle moments of the championships came when Queensland faced Western Australia and Harris won the ball in a contest against fellow top star Zippy Fish. While Fish is regarded as one of the fastest - if not the fastest - players going around, Harris gave her the glance over the shoulder and still took off, creating separation almost instantly and being able to get her kick away.

Her first five metres are as quick as anyone's and would have narrowly pipped Fish based off her preseason score, at the National Draft Combine. Each of the players who marginally shaded her time, are sub-180cm. While her agility is still outstanding for her size, she is able to evade opponents through her strength and even when tackled, has the size to lift the arms and get a clean handball away.

That strength comes in handy in one-on-one marking situations and you can only imagine that as a defender trying to play on an opponent who might not only beat you in a wrestle, but if given front position, any chance of defending her is over on the lead. Harris will often spend time down forward, which is a role she predominantly played in her early years while pinch-hitting in the ruck.

Last season she spent more time through the ruck, and gradually developed more midfield minutes, with that split exactly what happened in 2024. Watching her lineup on Shineah Goody at a centre bounce 12 months ago - with almost 20cm difference between them sums up what Harris is capable of, and will be capable of at the elite level.

At ground level, Harris is clean and able to win first or second possession balls, or take it out of the ruck and just burst away. That variety in her game, and versatility in her positioning, makes her so unpredictable to the opposition. For a player who is so good in the air, Harris won more than half of her touches at Coates Talent League Girls level and just under 50 per cent at the national carnival, in a groundball situation.

Her hands are clean and effective and is able to pinpoint a target, while her booming kick can easily travel 50m, quite often providing plenty of highlights on the run such as her game-icing major against Vic Country. Her ability to launch from long-range is a weapon of hers, but she is unselfish as well, always looking for better options inside 50 and trying to put it to her teammate's advantage.

With time and space, Harris can hit targets well, while her main improvement will come from her kicking precision around the ground but particularly when under pressure. Because her kick is so long and penetrating, the distance it creates in itself is such an advantage for her side. Quite often it will go to the right area, without being completely pinpoint.

In saying that, her kicking is not something anyone would consider a weakness as such, but more an area that can be refined. When able to launch on goal or take grass bounding down the field with time to assess her options, Harris can be very damaging and it will be when the booming kicks out of stoppages under pressure or just taking distance can be refined a little more that it would be a near-complete effort.

The other are of improvement which again is more just a way to further develop, comes in Harris' endurance. She can run out games and play across multiple roles, but can still further improve her endurance which was rated 'average' compared to her peers. It is not anything that will hold her back as she has proven she can consistently impact across four quarters, but improving it further will only make her better.