He was originally drafted by the Bulldogs from the Eastern Under 18 side in the Under 18 Victorian Metropolitan Football League with selection 27 in the 1994 AFL pre-season draft. After playing 38 games over four seasons, he was traded to Fremantle in return for selection 18, which was used by the Bulldogs to draft Mark Alvey. Hargraves would play only three games for Fremantle in two seasons before being delisted at the end of the 1999 season.