Anyone who has ever played with, coached or met Shaun Higgins, would understand the humble nature of the 30-year-old, which was on full display at Friday night’s Syd Barker Club Champion Dinner.
Higgins, who claimed his second consecutive Syd Barker Medal, was quick to thank his teammates, in particular fellow midfielder Ben Cunnington, for their help in getting him to where he is today.
“It’s obviously massive honour to be able to stand up here with the likes of so many great players of this football club over a number of years,” Higgins said.
“To Cunners (Ben Cunnington), he jokes that he looks after me every weekend, gives me the footy and takes care of my opponent, and I joke with him on a Monday, but I couldn’t do it without him.
“He’s the reason I’m able to get a kick on the weekend, he does so much of the hard work and has done so much of the hard work for this footy club for a number of years now, and that’s why he’s already a club champion.
“I’m not sure what it is, we’re probably chalk and cheese in so many aspects of what we do and I don’t know why we’ve been able to gel over the last four years, but we have.”
Higgins edged out Cunnington by just three votes thanks to an impressive end to the year, while key defender Robbie Tarrant finished in third.
“Ziebs (Jack Ziebell), Tazz (Robbie Tarrant) and Wrighty (Sam Wright), who got life membership, they just epitomise what this club stands for,” Higgins said.
“Tazz down back is a true leader of this footy club, along with Ziebs in the middle and Wrighty’s one of the great blokes to have around and I’m wrapt he’s going to continue his time at this footy club.”
After missing close to two seasons of football with various injuries, Ben Jacobs’ impressive comeback didn’t go unnoticed by the coaching staff or Higgins, with the midfielder leading the count up until the bye, which signifies his value to North Melbourne.
“Special mention to Ben Jacobs, who had an unfortunate second half to the year, but I think you saw the value he brings to the football club,” Higgins said.
“He’s signed on again, and he’s going to be a key member of our team going forward.”
As for the wider playing group, the All-Australian didn’t forget.
“We’ve got a great playing group, so many young guys have taken steps forward in the past 12 months, and will continue to improve going forward,” he said.
“It’s a great group to be a part of, I know individual awards like this are nice, but it wouldn’t have been made possible without the full 44 guys we had this year, and the 40-odd guys that we’re going to go into battle with next year as well.”
