Higgins doubts on free agency

SHAUN Higgins believes the AFL industry is still “years down the track” from free agents announcing they were changing clubs during the course of a season, saying the negatives still outweigh the positives of such transparency.

One of the great free agent success stories, Higgins switched from the Western Bulldogs to North Melbourne at the end of the 2014 season, but had made up his mind to leave Whitten Oval well before it happened.

But as he prepares for his 200th game on Sunday against West Coast at Blundstone Arena, the 30-year-old says the AFL isn’t ready for free agents to nominate their intentions to move while still playing for clubs they are preparing to leave.

“At the moment, I just don’t see what’s gained by coming out [with a decision to move],” Higgins said when asked about free agency.

Tom Lynch is almost certain to leave Gold Coast, but has yet to make an announcement on his intentions, even though he has had seasonending knee surgery.

Other free agents considering their options include West Coast’s Andrew Gaff and Bulldog Luke Dahlhaus.

“Everyone is in a slightly different situation because some guys genuinely don’t know 100 per cent their deci- sion before the end of the year; some guys have had two or three options; and some guys clearly have made up their mind. It is tough … potentially years down the track we will [have more transparency] but, at the moment, I can’t see it happening.”

Higgins hasn’t given much thought to his 200-game milestone — one that some feared he would never attain when plagued by injury early in his career — and is more concerned about getting the Kangaroos back on the winners’ list again after last week’s disappointing loss to Collingwood.

“It is clearly a nice achievement, especially given the first half of the journey was pretty rough, so it felt like a mile away at times,” he said.