It hasn’t all gone to plan for Jack Billings. And sometimes it just doesn’t. But after an injury interrupted start to his career, the emerging star with the game breaking left shoe reaches the half century in eye-catching form.
Taken with pick No. 3 in the 2013 National Draft, Billings missed the entire second half of his second season with stress fractures in his shin. It pulled the handbrake on what had been an impressive start to his career and altered the way he has had to prepare ever since.
Alan Richardson arrived at Linen House Centre only weeks before St Kilda banked their prized pick on the highly rated midfielder-forward. And while some Saints have been coached by two, three or even four or five coaches during their time at the highest level, the Saints coach has overseen every step of Billings’ journey so far.
“I reckon it would be fair to say Jack had a slow start on the back of quite an interrupted start to his career; he wasn’t quite able to do the work you’d like to get into young people,” Richardson told saints.com.au ahead of Saturday’s clash with Carlton.
“But we really like the player he’s becoming. He’s becoming a person that provides real versatility for our team. He can play through the midfield; the wing in particular; he’s become a really dangerous match-up in front of the ball.
“There’s no ceiling on where ‘JB’ will end up. He will be a midfielder-forward; he has such an uncanny knack to play forward, to find space, to present at the right time, to make something out of nothing.
“But as his running capacity grows and his understanding of midfield play develops we think he’s going to be an important player for us in the midfield too.
“He’s a very ambitious and a very driven person. He wants to be a good player and more importantly he wants our team to have success. He has no illusions how important he is to that plan.”
After starting the year on a wing, Billings has spent the majority of the past month as a permanent forward where he has been instrumental in St Kilda’s ball movement in the attacking half.
In the last four games, Billings has amassed more score involvements in the forward half (31) than any other player at the Saints, as well as averaging 22.5 disposals, 6.8 marks, 5.3 inside 50s and 403.8 metres gained.
“That was a role that we had him playing when he first came into the team and then we gave him opportunities through the midfield and that will continue to happen,” Richardson said.
“But right now we’ve needed him in front of the ball because of his ability win the ball, his ability to be able to create something out of nothing – when he gets the ball we hold onto it. Right now we need him to play forward and he’s doing a good job.”
After weaving one session after another together during the summer to sew up his most complete pre-season to date, Billings is reaping the rewards at the minute says his coach.
“Anyone’s form is always a direct relationship to the work they put in and he had a massive pre-season,” Richardson said.
“He started the year really strongly in the JLT and his form now is a reflection of the work he put in over the break. He’s starting to reap the benefits; he’s able to get to more contests; he’s able to get more involved in the game on the back of all the work he did.”
