JACK Higgins loves kicking snags. You know that by now.  

But right now, there isn't another small forward in the League kicking more goals than Higgins. 

In fact, only Ben King is ahead of him in the Coleman Medal leaderboard – 29 to 28 goals – although Higgins is No.1 in the competition for scoreboard impact points (combination of goals, behinds and assists). 

Of the top 100 goal kickers this season, only Adelaide key forward Darcy Fogarty is converting more of his chances than Higgins. Fogarty is going at a precise 78.1 per cent in front of goal, while Higgins is converting at 73.7 per cent. No one else in the top 100 are in the 70s. 

This form spike hasn't happened overnight. 

Higgins has been building towards elite status since moving from Punt Road to Moorabbin at the end of 2020, crossing to the club he grew up supporting after overcoming two bouts of brain surgery.

When doctors discovered a brain bleed after the bubbly goal sneak experienced headaches and blurred vision during games in 2019, Higgins feared he would never walk again, let along play footy, when neurosurgeons put him under a general anaesthetic.

Brain surgery left him with a 25cm scar on the side of his head that serves as a daily reminder of just how far he has come since his career looked over after playing 33 games in his first two seasons at Richmond.

Higgins grew up around the corner from RSEA Park and needed a fresh start after spending 2020 on the road during the pandemic. Now the 178cm pocket rocket is establishing himself as the Stephen Milne of Ross Lyon's second stint at the Saints.

The Oakleigh Chargers product kicked 27.16 in 2021 to reignite his career and then kicked 30.25 from 18 appearances the following season. 

Higgins then kicked 36 in 2023 and matched that figure again last year, finishing with 12 multiple goal hauls from 20 games, finishing eighth then seventh in the past two Trevor Barker Awards.But this season is next level.

Higgins has kicked multiple goals in nine of the first 10 rounds, including five goals in the loss to West Coast on Sunday, as well as four against Geelong and four threes to start 2025.

The 2017 first-round pick is firmly in the hunt for a maiden blazer, but competition for small forward spots in the All-Australian team is as fierce as it has been in years, with more than a handful of other goal sneaks having a big impact in 2025. 

Higgins is rated No.3 for general forwards in Champion Data's 100x ratings system behind Ben Long and Seth Campbell, where he is ranked 25th overall in the League in an indicator that ranks every player in position against the competition average.

Long has been one of Damien Hardwick's most impactful players this season, kicking 19.10 from eight appearances. 

Paul Curtis is averaging the seventh most goals this year at 2.6 per game and will return against Collingwood this Saturday night after serving a three-game suspension for a contentious tackle on Josh Sinn. 

Jamie Elliott has never been included in the squad, but the Magpies veteran is firmly in the conversation for a blazer at this point in the year, after kicking 23.15 from the first 10 rounds. 

Rhylee West has bolted into this conversation over the past month by kicking 14 goals in the past five games, including four more in the demolition of Essendon on Saturday night. With no Sam Darcy or Jamarra Ugle-Hagan inside 50, the 24-year-old has become a reliable star this year. 

And then there is Nick Watson.

The All-Australian selectors only picked one small forward last year in Hawthorn vice-captain Dylan Moore. They picked Greater Western Sydney captain Toby Greene – who is a pseudo key – and Brisbane livewire Charlie Cameron in 2023, after rewarding the resurgence of Tyson Stengle in 2022, alongside Shai Bolton. Tom Papley got the spot with Greene in 2021, while Liam Ryan was the only small forward in the team in 2020.Small forwards seldom get the credit they deserve.

But the impact of Higgins – and the names above – is highlighting how valuable they are in 2025.