Seven first gamers ran out for Fremantle, with No.3 draft pick Stephen Hill and rookie Matt de Boer immediately taking to the unusually high NAB Cup intensity.
Fremantle was without captain Matthew Pavlich and experienced players Des Headland and Chris Tarrant, but Harvey said he could sense the energy of the young group before the game.
What he didn't expect was the stunning jump out of the blocks that saw Fremantle 23 points clear at half time.
"When you play this young and enthusiastic group, you can see the thrill of the chase in the rooms before the game," Harvey said after the match.
"Do you know that you're going to get off to such a good start like that? No. But certainly it was very upbeat before the game.
"That was a really good thing to see behind closed doors, that you had this young group who were willing and able to do what you ask them to."
While Fremantle's young brigade set the half-time lead up with their aggressive approach, they were unable to match the pace set by Richmond's key players in the second half.
Matthew Richardson made the game his own, while Nathan Foley (33 possessions) and Brett Deledio (29) also lifted.
"They gave their all in their first game and just fell away in crucial times," Harvey said.
"When you've got a young side, and Richmond get a bit of a run-on, all of their older players came into the game. We haven't got those sort of guys aged 30 and over at the moment.
"As the game wore on, as they got tired, there were just some areas of the game where we looked like we were going to excel and all of a sudden we made a crucial error or mistake, and it cost us dearly in the context of the game."
Fremantle appeared to have the match sewn up late when Hill and Garrick Ibbotson booted consecutive super-goals.
But the unstoppable Richardson booted two straight goals and took a game-saving mark in defensive 50. The Tigers' champion was everywhere, and Harvey conceded the 34-year-old may be in for another stellar season.
"He must be a freak behind closed doors, that's all I know, because I haven't seen too many players still have that effect so early [in the year]. So he's in for a good year," Harvey said.
"We had Michael Johnson on him at times, (Steven) Dodd on him at times and, when he pushed forward, (Luke) McPharlin.
"(But) we won't see that too often, a guy coming off the wing and having that sort of effect."
