St Kilda coach Ross Lyon believes Saints forward Jack Higgins is the most courageous player in the AFL.
Higgins on Sunday will celebrate a milestone, playing his 150th game, when St Kilda comes up against Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval to close out Gather Round.
It's quite the achievement for Higgins, whose career was in jeopardy in 2019 when he underwent brain surgery after scans revealed a bleed on the brain. So delicate was the procedure that Higgins could have been left paralysed or even died, had the operation failed.
"He shared his story with us, and it took me aback when he did it," Lyon said at his pre-game press conference on Friday.
"I would argue that he's the most courageous player in the AFL, based on what he went through and what he has overcome.
"When he's falling out of a car on the Nepean Highway and vomiting...
"Then to have those surgeries and then come back...
"He's an incredibly dedicated player, he's one of my best trainers, he just turns up all the time.
"We're going to aim to celebrate him and show the respect with our effort on the weekend."
Selected by Richmond with pick No. 17 in the 2017 National Draft, Higgins tallied 29 goals in 43 games in three seasons with the Tigers before crossing to Moorabbin in November 2020. He has kicked 182 goals in 106 matches for St Kilda and was the Saints' leading goalkicker in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
