WHEN pressed to name the player he is most optimistic about, Alan Richardson could not hide his excitement for Jack Billings.
Billings has endured two injury-interrupted seasons at the Saints since being selected with pick three in the 2013 National Draft.
Hamstring issues brought a premature end to his 2014 campaign, while a stress fracture in his shin forced him to miss the last 11 games of this season.
Despite these setbacks, the precociously talented left footer has managed 25 senior games and shown glimpses of match-winning potential, booting 21 goals.
“We saw the work that Jack can do against the Bulldogs [this year] when he kicked three goals in the last quarter,” Richardson told SAINTS.com.au.
“He is an outstanding person. He has become a fanatic in the way he prepares. He is going to influence others, and there are obviously a few below him now given that he is going into his third year.
“He’s probably the player that will make the biggest difference to our footy team next year.”
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These are strong words from a coach that is traditionally reserved his public judgement of players. But given some of Billings’ exploits since Richardson arrived at the club a week before the 2013 National Draft, his assessment is hardly surprising.
Last week, Richardson spoke of the club’s satisfaction in securing a number of inside midfielders with tremendous ball-winning abilities.
He also indicated his desire to add some outside polish to complement the likes of David Armitage, Luke Dunstan and Seb Ross.
Billings fits this mould to a tee, according to Richardson.
“The main area where we need to improve is using the footy and maximising our entries so that we can be more effective and put scoreboard pressure on,” he said.
“Billings is all of those things.”
The club expects Billings to resume pre-season training at full fitness.
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