Get to know new recruit Shaun Higgins with these five facts you may not have known.

1. Welcome to the club, bro

It’ll be a family affair for Higgins when he joins younger sister, Danielle, at the Cats. The two will become the first brother and sister to be active on one club’s AFL & AFLW playing list when they run out on the field respectively next year. Western Bulldog Tom Boyd had his sister, Tessa, join him at the club in 2019. Unfortunately for the duo neither were able to play a game for the Dogs following her signing, with Tessa delisted and Tom retiring within a couple of weeks of each other. Other sisters of AFL players to play AFLW include North Melbourne’s Bethany Lynch (sister of Tom) and Melbourne’s Shae Sloane (sister of Rory).

2. Hold up, I was here first

But Danielle wasn’t even the first of the Higgins family at the Cats. Their father, Mick, was a part of the Cats U19 team and three premiership Reserves teams in the 1980s before injuries forced him into local football in Geelong where he became a well know figure.

3. The common foe

Higgins knows Geelong well and not just because he grew up here. Across his 237 game AFL career, Higgins has played more of those games against the Cats than any other side. From 2006 to 2020, Higgins has played 18 games against Geelong but it hasn’t been a happy time as he has only won four of those games. Higgins only win as a Bulldog versus the Cats was in round one, 2007 which was his sixth AFL game.

4. Never ever has there been

Plenty of players have played for three clubs in the VFL/AFL. In fact there is currently 29 players in the AFL who have played for two clubs previously to their current club. However, Higgins becomes the first player in VFL/AFL history to play for the Cats, Bulldogs and Kangaroos. Considering that many of the three club players have played in three states, Higgins is lucky that his first move from Whitten Oval to Arden St was only 5.4km and his move from there to GMHBA Stadium will only be 76.6km.

 5. A model of consistency

Whilst there have been many players who have played at three club, Higgins will become only the third player to play over 100 games at his first two clubs before heading to a third. The other two were ruckman Matthew Clarke (Bris, Adel, StK) and forward Paul Hudson (Haw, WB, Rich).