The club had Higgins training with the midfield group over summer , hoping he could play a similar role to premiership winning hybrid midfielder/forward Kane Lambert . He impressed the coaching staff with his elite running ability in his pre-season , completing the three kilometre time-trial in 10 minutes and 10 seconds to place third among all players at the club . Higgins played his first football in Richmond colours when he represented the club in a series of AFLX exhibition matches in Sydney in February 2018 . He also played limited minutes in the club 's first official pre-season match , recording five disposals against in Wangaratta . He did n't do enough to earn a recall in the final match of that series however , instead playing a practice match with the club 's reserves side in the VFL . There he stayed through the first week of the AFL season , kicking two goals in a VFL practice match win over the Northern Blues . Higgins flew as a travelling emergency with the club 's senior side to Adelaide the following week before playing another VFL practice match the next day , this time racking up 22 disposals , six marks , five tackles and a goal . His form was noted by the club 's AFL match committee and he was selected to make his AFL debut against at the MCG the following week . Higgins had a quiet start to the match , failing to win a possession the match 's first quarter . In the second term he made his impact , winning a mark deep inside Richmond 's forward line before playing on , spinning round his body and snapping through a goal with his first kick in league football . He added another later in the match , soccering the ball in mid-air to help his team to a 13 point victory . He finished the game with 12 disposals and two goals , the latter of which earned him a nomination for Goal of the Week . Despite this strong performance , Higgins was omitted from the round 4 side chosen to face the due to the return of premiership players Dion Prestia and Josh Caddy . He sat out just one match , returning to AFL football with a team-high three goals in round 5 's ANZAC Day eve match against . He thus became the first Richmond player to kick multiple goals in the first two matches of their career since Justin Plapp did so in 1998 . Higgins added another two goals in round 6 , the second coming right after the first when he was awarded a free kick in the goal-square after being knocked down by 's Lynden Dunn while celebrating the first . He played senior matches in each of the next two weeks before being a late withdrawal from the selected side in round 9 , replaced by premiership midfielder Shaun Grigg despite Higgins being in full-health . Higgins spent just one week on the sidelines before returning in round 10 , this time becoming the subject of major news story when he was disallowed a goal on a score-review that the AFL later admitted was incorrect . Five weeks later he attracted yet more media attention when Seven Network cameras caught Higgins delivering a comical speech to his huddled teammates during a match 's half-time break . Head coach Damien Hardwick flagged an intent to give Higgins more midfield time after that match in which he gathered 20 disposals in his side 's victory over . He also earned praise from Richmond vice-captain Jack Riewoldt who said Higgins had been " really , really good for ( Richmond ) this year " as well as praising Higgins ' work off-ball , an area he said was often a weakness in first-year players . To that point he ranked second for total goal assists , third for score involvements per game , fourth for contested possessions per game and fifth for total tackles inside 50 among all Rising Star eligible players in the league that season . In round 16 he recorded a season-best 25 disposals in his side 's victory over and two weeks later he received a Rising Star nomination for an 18 disposal , four clearance and one goal performance in his side 's round 18 win over . . Higgins received another award nomination the following week , this time for Goal of the Year for a goal-line scissor kick against which 3AW commentator Tim Lane referred to as “ one of the greatest , most creative goals ever kicked in 120 years of ( the sport ) . ” The goal attracted significant controversy , with commentators and fans labeling it a throw as it required Higgins to elevate the ball into the air while his body traveled around the goal-line in the act of kicking . Umpiring officials later supported the on-field umpire 's decision to award the goal as Higgins ' action to put the ball into the air was deemed to come in the action of kicking . Higgins continued to earn selection at senior level into the finals series , where he recorded 20 disposals , eight score involvements and one goal in his side 's qualifying final win over . He was named by '' AFL Media '' as one of Richmond 's best players in the following match , a shock preliminary final loss to in which he kicked two of his side 's eight goals . At season 's end Higgins was nominated for the AFL Players Association 's Best First-Year Player , placed fourth in the AFL Rising Star and won Richmond 's best first year player award . He also received the Goal of the Year award for his round 19 scissor-kick goal . Higgins finished 2018 having played 20 matches and ranking first for contested possessions , goal assists and score involvements per game across the Rising Star eligible players that year
Rising Star nomination
2018 AFL Rising Star
Jack Higgins (Australian footballer)