- Chose a city he once called ‘boring’ as the ideal place to pop the question
St Kilda forward Jack Higgins has found the love of his life – and someone to inherit the brutal nickname he once copped for a wayward afternoon in front of the sticks.
Higgins popped the question to his new fiancée Tenisha Crook in Adelaide during Gather Round, the couple announcing their engagement after eight years together.
However, it was the way that Higgins announced the engagement that raised the eyebrows of many footy fans.
‘Incoming … the future Missy Higgins,’ he posted.
That was a reference to the nickname he was given in 2021 after a shocking match against the Sydney Swans where he kicked one goal and six behinds, a club record.
The media ran with the nickname in headlines, with the play on words mashing up famous Australian singer Missy Higgins’ name with Jack’s wayward radar that afternoon.
A beaming Jack Higgins has announced his engagement to long-term partner and now-fiancée Tenisha Crook
Higgins had a sense of humour about the occasion, bringing up an old sledge against him from 2021
St Kilda officials were not happy with the nickname and pressured media outlets to change their headlines in the wake of the incident.
‘There was some feedback about the use of nicknames like Missy Higgins and the like for Jack,’ Saints executive Simon Lethlean said at the time.
‘No one likes young athletes being scrutinised with negativity, but our job here is to put support around those players, which they’ve got, and focus on how to improve.
‘It’s all part of the game to be scrutinised. As long as it’s balanced, that’s all part of the industry.
‘I put a call into the AFL. I think the AFL saw fit without us getting involved to change the headline yesterday. I’ve seen the Herald Sun have seen fit to redo it.
‘I guess we let the media decide on balance what’s appropriate and what’s not, and we’ll look after the health of our players up here.
‘He wasn’t the only talented player across the weekend that missed a lot of shots at goal. He had a pretty influential day, he was probably the best player on the ground apart from his execution in the end there.
‘He’s a pretty happy-go-lucky kid. He tries his hardest at goal-kicking practice and he’ll be out there again doing that.’
Crook has been at Higgins side for eight years, including when he had serious brain surgery in 2019 and during the 2021 season when he copped the sledge
Higgins has gone from hating Adelaide to becoming the face of South Australian tourism
Higgins has clearly found the funny side of the sledge since then, and Saints fans are here for it.
‘That is the best snag of your life there brother. Congratulations to you both,’ one posted.
Another added: ‘I hope she has a good sense of humour.’
The engagement was also laced with irony, after Higgins famously called Adelaide boring during last year’s Gather Round.
‘No, I don’t like Adelaide, so I’ll probably be in my room playing Call of Duty with the boys,’ he said at the time.
Higgins has since changed his tune and was even an ambassador for South Australian tourism during this year’s footy festival.
‘All right – I was 100 per cent wrong about South Australia. I went on a road trip through the Limestone Coast and was blown away by everything,’ he said in the Instagram ad.
‘So many people will be driving over for Gather Round so do what I did and take the scenic route! Honestly – it was all elite.’
