‘I used to look up to Nick, not anymore!’: Saint Jack Higgins’ brutal takedown of critic Nick Riewoldt

St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt called for Saint Jack Higgins to be dropped after Round 1 for a “selfish” act in the loss to Collingwood.

But since then, Higgins has kicked 14 goals in four games as the Saints have marched on a five-match winning run.

Named man of the match for his 4.3 from 17 disposals in the win over GWS, Higgins didn’t miss his moment to take a shot at his biggest critic Riewoldt.

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“I used to look up to Nick but not anymore!” he laughed.

“I learnt a lot after Round 1. Obviously got potted by you (Riewoldt) and David King calling for me head and that sort of drove me even more.

“Not that I like when people bag me but it gives me a lot of strength to carry on and try and prove you guys wrong.”

Riewoldt laughed off the Higgins encounter and said he was “very happy to eat my words”.

“Just happy to play my role and fire up the boys!” he joked.

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Higgins had been criticised for failing to dish off a handball to teammate Jade Gresham as the duo streamed inside 50 back in Round 1.

Gresham was wide open alongside Higgins, who ignored him and opted to go long to a two-on-one contest in favour of their opponents Collingwood.

Gresham was clearly frustrated by Higgins actions, and made his displeasure known.

But on Friday night, Higgins went the extra mile to dish off a certain goal. After marking on a slight angle, Higgins handballed off to teammate Brad Crouch who kicked the match-winner.

“It was justified your comment Rooey (Riewoldt), but his last three games, he’ll poll in the Brownlow surely,” Fox Footy’s Jonathan Brown said.

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The small forward, who kicked 1.6 last year at the SCG, said he had some nervous moments at Manuka Oval when he feared his radar had again gone wayward.

“I thought it would be like Sydney 2.0,” he laughed.

“I’m having flashbacks to the SCG. I’ve done a lot of goal kicking practice – (the team therapist) said to just take a few deep breaths.”

Higgins’ teammate Max King didn’t fare so well on Friday night, finishing with 1.7 in a shock outing.

Riewoldt said he had been impressed with the Saints’ 5-1 start to the year, but he was keeping a lid on expectations.

“They’ve done what they needed to do – the challenge is going to come in a few weeks,” he said.

“I want to see them against Melbourne and Geelong. See them against the best competition.”

The last time the Saints started 5-1 was 2010 – the year St Kilda drew the grand final with Collingwood before going on to lose the replay the following week.