Shaun Higgins

Shaun Higgins (born 4 March 1988) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). Higgins played for the Western Bulldogs from 2006 to 2014, the North Melbourne Football Club from 2015 to 2020 and the Geelong Football Club from 2021 to 2022. Higgins is a dual Syd Barker Medallist and was selected in the 2018 All-Australian team. He received a nomination for the 2007 AFL Rising Star award in round 8 of the 2007 season.

Early life Higgins was raised in Geelong, Victoria and attended St Joseph's College. He played junior football for St. Joseph’s football and netball club and was a supporter. His father Mick played reserves football for Geelong. and played football for in the AFL Women's (AFLW).

Higgins was the Geelong Falcons' best onballer and was projected to be a top-ten selection in the 2005 AFL draft, but fell to pick 11, the 's first selection.

AFL career

Western Bulldogs (2006–2014) He managed to make his debut in his first season, against Collingwood. He played mostly as a small forward then but suffered a season-ending elbow injury in round 13 against the West Coast Eagles, ruling him out of that year's finals campaign. Before his injury he showed flashes of brilliance in front of goals. But his fitness levels were not quite up. But even at that stage he was a standout with his accurate kicking and awareness of what was around him.

After missing the previous season with an elbow injury, Higgins established himself as a forward in 2007, contributing as a goal kicker and playmaker. He kicked the winning goal in a match against Collingwood — the same club he had debuted against — and was the Round 8 nominee for the 2007 NAB Rising Star award.

Following a win against Adelaide to open the season Higgins contributed to the win. His Season was interrupted in round 2 with a Broken Ankle against Melbourne when he landed on it coming down from a Marking contest. The injury was initially expected to keep him out for a few weeks, but recovery took longer than anticipated. But came back to play in the Finals. When he was injured, he was always in the Bulldogs rooms supporting his teammates and this was the first sign of Leadership that he shown and he later was voted by his peers as a leader. In the preliminary Final against , Higgins was playing on Darren Milburn, Higgins went on to kick two goals on him and set one up and Milburn got taken off the ground.

Although he is primarily a forward, Higgins has been used sometimes in the midfield. In 2009 Higgins was promoted into the Leadership group. And he received a number 7 on his shirt that was worn by Scott West and Doug Hawkins before him. Higgins had a pre-season that was there with Daniel Cross and Matthew Boyd in the time trials. He was touted as being a potential captain of the Club. He had a successful 2009 season but then had hamstring troubles that negatively affected his performance. He has the ability of kicking both feet. His most notable goal was against Geelong. He signed a contract extension midway through the season.

North Melbourne (2015–2020) On 3 October 2014, Higgins signed with the North Melbourne Football Club as a restricted free agent after the Western Bulldogs decided not to match the Kangaroos' offer. Higgins had a stellar first season with North Melbourne, playing 24 games and kicking 39 goals. Higgins was also one of their most consistent players all year playing as a high half forward. The 2016 season however, was not one to remember for Higgins as he injured himself in round 7, thus ruling him out for three months. Higgins returned in round 23 and played in the losing elimination final.

Higgins played every match for the 2017 season apart from the round five match against to go on and win his first best and fairest, the Syd Barker Medal. At the end of the 2019 season, Higgins signed a one-year contract extension, turning his back on interest from Geelong.

In 2020 he was named in the St Joseph’s College team of champions, recognising the best VFL/AFL players to have attended the school.

Geelong (2021–2022) At the conclusion of the 2020 season, Higgins was asked to look elsewhere by North Melbourne to secure his future and accepted a two-year deal at Geelong; he was traded for pick 30 in that year's draft.

Statistics

260 !! 229 !! 182 !! 2722 !! 2538 !! 5260 !! 1029 !! 822 !! 0.9 !! 0.7 !! 10.5 !! 9.8 !! 20.2 !! 4.0 !! 3.2 !! 70