The defending Super Rugby Pacific champions had their campaign opener turned on its head, when they lost 31-10 to the Chiefs in Christchurch last week.
It was a similar story down the road when the Highlanders fell 60-20 against the Blues.
Not the opening game either southern side envisioned — and it adds more fuel to the fire for tonight’s game in Melbourne.
The Highlanders captain knows their rivals will be hurting, and come back fighting, but equally his side is up for the challenge.
"It’s one of the teams the boys love playing, so it doesn’t take too much to get the motivation going to play them," Harmon said.
"They’re a great team at bouncing back in those sort of situations so they’d have learnt a lot from that loss.
"They’ll be tough, but I think the Chiefs showed a good blueprint of how you know you can beat the Crusaders."
The Highlanders were guilty of handing the ball to the Blues, through poor accuracy, soft turnovers, and wayward passes against a team packed with power.
The Crusaders, however, pose just as much attacking prowess and possess some big names. Sam Whitelock returns and David Havili switches back to his usual spot of second five.
But if the Highlanders can be more clinical, they will be right in the fight, Harmon said.
"If we can just be a bit more accurate and cut down those turnovers, then I think we’ll be in a good position to perform."
The Highlanders have pulled the trigger with seven changes — including Nikora Broughton’s debut at No8 — from last week.
Harmon agreed with coach Clarke Dermody about Broughton’s inclusion, saying the newcomer "really earned that spot".
"I’ll be looking for him to just go out there and play his game and play well like he has been."
The feeling at training had been good this week and the prospect of playing the Crusaders in Melbourne, as part of the Super Round, added another layer of excitement.
"Obviously not the way we want to start this season but we’ve got a lot of good learnings out of that and there was actually a lot of good stuff within that game for us to grow on.
"The vibes are good.
"It’s cool to be back travelling overseas. It’s one of the coolest parts about the job, being able to go see cool places like this."
Dermody also enjoyed the prospect of the Super Round again, after its introduction last season.
"This year it’s been planned, it’s been well publicised.
"I know a lot of people from New Zealand that are going over for it. Hopefully it’s a bit more of a spectacle and now with the ball in play a bit longer hopefully ... it’s an exciting weekend for everyone."
Super Rugby Pacific
Melbourne, 8pm
Highlanders: Sam Gilbert, Jonah Lowe, Josh Timu, Thomas Umaga-Jensen, Connor Garden-Bachop, Freddie Burns, Kemara Hauiti-Parapara, Nikora Broughton, Sean Withy, Billy Harmon (captain), Will Tucker, Pari Pari Parkinson, Jermaine Ainsley, Andrew Makalio, Ayden Johnstone. Reserves: Rhys Marshall, Daniel Lienert-Brown, Saula Ma’u, Max Hicks, James Lentjes, Folau Fakatava, Mitch Hunt, Mosese Dawai.
Crusaders: Fergus Burke, Sevu Reece, Jack Goodhue, David Havili, Leicester Fainga’anuku, Richie Mo’unga, Mitchell Drummond, Christian Lio-Willie, Tom Christie, Ethan Blackadder, Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett (captain), Tamaiti Williams, Codie Taylor, Joe Moody. Reserves: Brodie McAlister, George Bower, Seb Calder, Zach Gallagher, Sione Havili Talitui, Noah Hotham, Braydon Ennor, Macca Springer.
