Higgins thriving on No. 1 ruck role at Bulldogs

BROCK Higgins has been thrust into South Fremantle's No. 1 ruck role early in his time with the Bulldogs and thrived, and it could have been the best thing to happen to him after an interrupted pre-season crossing from East Perth.

Higgins played 30 matches over the last three seasons at East Perth but with the Royals still possessing Josh Smith and Paul Johnson on top of Eagles talls Fraser McInnes, Jeremy McGovern, Callum Sinclair and Scott Lycett it was always going to be tough for the versatile big man to get a regular game in 2014.

The 24-year-old saw the writing on the wall and was weighing up options to continue his career elsewhere, and he lobbed at South Fremantle and has made an immediate impact.

Over the first two weeks, Higgins teamed with fellow recruit James Sellar in the ruck but now the last four weeks he has virtually played in the ruck on his own and done tremendously well.

He competed hard against East Perth's Johnson and Lycett in Round 3, and in games since against Swan Districts (Nathan Blakely), West Perth (Chris Keunen) and East Fremantle (James Bristow, Rob Young) he has been the best ruckman on the ground in tremendous performances.

He has always enjoyed playing in the ruck despite being slightly undersized and feels that being thrust into the No. 1 ruck role has actually helped him get up into top shape quicker than he might have otherwise.

"I enjoy playing in the ruck. I like being around the ball a lot and having the chance to touch it a few times during the game. Now I'm starting to get my fitness and that's coming after I wasn’t able to do much of a pre-season because of changing clubs," Higgins said.

"I rate Keunen as one of the best tap ruckmen in the comp as well so the last few weeks I have just tried to do the best I can. Every week, I seem to be up against someone a bit taller, stronger and bigger. All I can do is try my best, play my role for the team and that's what everyone in the team is trying to do.

"Now that I am into the ruck full-time, my fitness is coming back again and I seem to get better as the games go on. I started training in the second week that the boys were back at it in January so that made it tough because we tried to push the program. My body was a bit sore there, but I'm there now and I'm starting to get my fitness base under me which is a good feeling."

Leaving East Perth wasn’t something that really crossed Higgins' mind until 2013 drew to a close, but when he realised opportunities might be scarce with the amount of Eagles talls that would be playing for the Royals, he began to look elsewhere and South Fremantle was the pick of his options.

"I did probably see myself playing at East Perth for a long time, but by November and December last year the writing was on the wall that there wouldn’t be much opportunity there. I had a few offers over east and a couple in the country, but I think I have made the right decision in coming to South Fremantle," Higgins said.

"I was just pretty much looking for opportunities to play WAFL football. I didn’t really want to be a 25-year-old still running around in the twos. I'm very thankful that South Fremantle gave me the opportunity to play and I am loving it down here.

"The guys have been great and I can't complain at all. I didn’t know too many people, but it's made easier by the blokes down here. They have helped me fit straight in and it's great to be here."

Winning games of football obviously makes things more enjoyable as well and after playing in four straight losses to start the season, Higgins has enjoyed his first two wins with the Bulldogs the past two weeks against West Perth and East Fremantle.

"It was a great to get a win obviously and with it being a derby, there was a bit bigger crowd and the intensity out there was pretty good. It was a well fought out win in the end I though. They challenged us and we stood up when it counted, which is what we need to keep doing," he said.

"I think we have outplayed our opposition for a lot of quarters this year, but we have just been unlucky in a few games early on.

"Our discipline has got a lot better as well even though it crept in a little bit in the last quarter and we are now starting to put it together, and it's coming together nicely now.

"Hopefully we can keep it going. We have won two now and hopefully if we win the next one, and the next one then winning can become a habit. We need to try and create that habit."

The Anzac Day derby at East Fremantle Oval was Higgins' first chance to play in a Fremantle derby after playing in two Perth derbies during his time at East Perth.

He didn’t notice a big change in the intensity of the rivalry, but did enjoy the chance to play on Anzac Day.

"I didn’t notice a lot of difference from the derbies at East Perth. They both are pretty massive occasions and similar in that way, but they are definitely always good to play in," he said.

"This one was a bit special with it being Anzac Day. With the ceremony before hand it gets a bit emotional and it's a good experience to be part of.

"Hase did talk about Anzac Day before game and just focused on the Anzac spirit and things like mateship, courage and all of that to try to get us going."

South Fremantle now take on Claremont this Saturday at Fremantle Oval and that means another big task for Higgins up against the likes of Mark Seaby, Mitch Andrews and Darcy Cameron.

"They are still a very good team even though they've lost a few blokes and our sole focus this week is to do a good job and go into the bye with a lot of positivity and momentum behind us," Higgins said.

"They have some good, experience ruckmen like Seaby and Andrews that I will now get ready to battle against as well."

By Chris Pike