SHAUN Higgins is the talk of the North Melbourne dressing room, with the former Western Bulldog impressing teammates with pin-point foot skills and intense application levels during the pre-season.
Higgins, who moved to the Roos during last year's free agency period, has made a strong impression at his new club reflected in his improved fitness level this summer.
The former Dog, who can be selected as a forward or defender for $430,000 in the NAB AFL Fantasy competition in 2015, seems to have moved past his injury issues and captain Andrew Swallow was glowing in his praise of Higgins this week.
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"I've seen a couple of boys talk about him recently, but just the way he (Higgins) moves and really has a crack. He's got great skills. Every time he gets the ball he usually hits a target," Swallow told the club's website on Monday.
"He's probably a bit bigger than I thought he was. He goes in and really has a crack at the footy and works really hard. He's been super-impressive and hopefully he’s going to be a really handy addition for us.
Despite his injury woes, Higgins has 129 games of senior experience to impart to North's young group.
Higgins and fellow recruit Jarrad Waite have had a big influence at Aegis Park during the off-season, according to Swallow.
"The level of training and intensity of training has really lifted from day one. You don't have to pull them away or spray them because they go out there and know what to do,” Swallow said.
"It's probably just a bit more relaxed around the place, because guys are given a responsibility and they go and do it."
Swallow says he's a "mile ahead" of where he was this time last year, when he was sidelined until round nine due to a ruptured Achilles sustained in 2013.
“I really wanted to go to Utah (on the club's pre-season camp in November) and use that as a building block," he said.
"I struggled a bit over there, but felt the benefits when I came back.
"Touch wood I can stay injury free and hopefully have a real crack at the NAB Challenge.
"I didn't start running until well after now (last year); end of January, early February was when I actually started. So to be running around, feeling fit, doing all the drills and pretty much every part of training – I'm a mile ahead."
On Tuesday, a select group of North players braved the gloomy Melbourne skies to get in some tackling practice at Arden Street.
Players including Drew Petrie, Brent Harvey and Lindsay Thomas worked on technique with full-time tackling coach John Donehue.
Aaron Black, Scott Thompson and Higgins were among those to do some touch work with the footballs.
