78 AFL SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 2016 HERALDSUN.COM.AU

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n He still lives at home n He's got a Cyril Rioli poster on his wall n He seeks advice from unlikely places

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JACK Billings is explaining the best two hours he spent last year.

But the St Kilda prodigy isn’t talking about a game of football, he’s discussing a post-season coffee with a rival club captain.

It’s late 2015 and Billingshas just sat out half the season after barely missing a game in his life. Struck down by a stress fracture in his tibia, he was told he couldn’t run for four months.

The Saints granted him leave — and a Broome holiday — to unplug, but one thing you quickly learn about Billings is that asking him to switch off from footy would be worthy of a Mission Impossible script.

Searching for answers, Billings reached out to Collingwood skipper Scott Pendlebury.

“He’s been someone I’vealways looked up to. We caught up over coffee and it was just good to pick his brains about all things footy — training, recovery and

diet,” Billings said. “He didn’t know me from a bar of soap, but he went out of his way.

“I was going through a frustrating period and it just shows you the type of person he is and why he’s such a good leader.

“He gave me advice on what he did at his age, how he got the best out of himself and he helped me put a few things in place through pre-season and in general.

“But he stressed that youmake your career and that it’s up to you. You’ve got to get to work.”

Hard work has never beenan issue for the midfielder-forward with a left foot as lethal as any assassin. With each game, the footy world is getting a better look at a

player whose skill, poise and classy finishing make him central to St Kilda’s regeneration.

Billings didn’t want the Pendlebury meeting to give the impression he couldn’t lean on senior teammates Nick Riewoldt and Leigh Montagna, who have had a profound influence on his development.

But his admiration for Pendlebury made him go the extra step; something that’s not foreign to him.

He was the 10-year-old kidwho, with best mate Luke McDonald — now a North Melbourne defender — hung out in the Kangaroos’ rooms and had ice baths.

He was the Essendon fanwho loved Matthew Lloyd and did work experience at the Bombers to see what an AFL club was like behind the curtains.

He was the eager-to-impress draftee who, in his first weights session, was paired with Riewoldt and was

sore for days after trying to lift more than his teenage body could handle.

He was the 2013 No.3 draftpick who still has a photo of Hawthorn star Cyril Rioli on his bedroom wall.

“I love footy and I’d probably say I’m a footy nerd,” Billings said.

“That’s why my injury lastyear was so challenging because I just had to let go. It was the first time in my life when I didn’t watch a game on the weekend.

“I actually learnt a lot about myself and footy in that time and I realised how much I love the game and the simple things, like literally going out on to a ground on the weekend and playing.

SAMEDMUND

HERALDSUN.COM.AU SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 2016 AFL 79

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AFL TEAMS: ROUND 6MELBOURNE v ST KILDA

Etihad Stadium, Today 1.45pmJetta T.McDonald Bugg B Geary Dempster WebsterDunn Lumumba Salem HB Savage Fisher Montagna

Vince Tyson Wagner C Billings Armitage NewnesWatts Frost Garlett HF Weller Riewoldt Gresham

Kent Hogan Kennedy F Sinclair Bruce Membrey Gawn N.Jones Viney R Hickey Dunstan Steven

Petracca Pedersen Hunt Harmes Int Ross Acres Gilbert MinchingtonOliver Garland Neal-Bullen Emg Longer Goddard Murdoch

Petracca In Membrey Acres GreshamBrayshaw Out McCartin Lonie Lee

ADELIADE v FREMANTLEAdelaide Oval, Today 2.10pm

Brown Hartigan Lever B Sutcliffe Dawson Spurr Laird Talia Mackay HB Hill A.Pearce Sheridan

Seedsman Thompson Smith C Weller Barlow D PearceLynch Jenkins M.Crouch HF Grey Pavlich Ballantyne

Betts Walker Cameron F Walters Mayne TabernerJacobs Sloane Douglas R Griffin Mundy Neale

Atkins Cheney Lyons McGovern Int Crozier Tucker Blakely Clarke Ellis-Yolmen Milera Henderson Emg De Boer Mzungu Langdon

NO CHANGE In Mundy BlakelyOut Johnson Fyfe

GWS GIANTS v HAWTHORNSpotless Stadium, Today 4.35pm

Shaw Davis Buntine B Burgoyne Frawley Hodge Williams Patfull Kennedy HB Gibson Stratton Birchall

Wilson Shiel Griffen C Hill Lewis SmithWhitfield Patton Kelly HF Breust O’Brien Gunston

Greene Cameron Ward F Puopolo Ceglar Rioli Mumford Scully Coniglio R McEvoy Mitchell Shiels

Palmer Johnson Steele Lobb Int Sicily Duryea Lovell Howe Haynes Tomlinson Reid Emg Hardwick Hartung Brand

Palmer In Howe LovellSmith Out Langford Hartung

GEELONG v GOLD COASTSimonds Stadium, Tonight 7.25pm

Kolodjashnij Lonergan Enright B Cameron Schade LemmensMackie Henderson Taylor HB Harbrow Day Malceski

Cockatoo Selwood Duncan C Kolodjashnij Ablett RosaMcCarthy Kersten Motlop HF Miller Lynch Martin

Bartel Hawkins Menzel F Sexton Wright Davis Smith Guthrie Dangerfield R Currie Lonergan Prestia

Bews Blicavs Caddy Stanley Int Grant McKenzie Hall Willis Gregson Horlin-Smith Lang Emg Ah Chee Leslie Matera

Henderson Bews In Davis Prestia Schade WillisRuggles Gregson Out Rischitelli Saad Russell Ah Chee

RICHMOND v PORT ADELAIDEMCG, Tonight 7.25pm

Astbury Chaplin Batchelor B Impey Jonas PittardC.Ellis Houli Deledio HB O’Shea Hombsch Broadbent

B.Ellis Grigg McIntosh C Toumpas Wines Ebert Lambert Martin Vickery HF Neade Dixon Hartlett

Riewoldt Lloyd Edwards F Young Westhoff Stewart Maric Miles Cotchin R Howard Boak Ah Chee

Rioli Menadue Morris Hampson Int S.Gray Byrne-Jones Krakouer Polec Hunt Markov Castagna Emg Colquhoun Amon Butcher

Deledio Hampson In Krakouer Polec Impey Howard Ah CheeRance Townsend Out R.Gray Trengove Wingard Lobbe Amon

BRISBANE LIONS v SYDNEYGabba, Tomorrow 1.10pm

Gardiner Merrett C Beams B Rampe Grundy SmithHarwood Andrews Mayes HB Mills Laidler McVeigh Lester Christensen Taylor C Heeney Kennedy Hannebery

Hanley Rockliff Bewick HF Parker Franklin Lloyd Walker Bell Keays F McGlynn Tippett Papley

Martin Zorko Robinson R Sinclair Mitchell K.Jack Bastinac Rich Dawson McStay Int Aliir Cunningham Hewett Robinson

Freeman Schache Evans Emg Hiscox Jones NankervisMayes McStay Keays In Aliir

Green Cutler Schache Out RichardsCARLTON v ESSENDON

MCG, Tomorrow 3.20pmWeitering Plowman Simpson B McD’d-Tipungwuti Gwilt Baguley

Tuohy Rowe Thomas HB Dempsey Hartley Kelly Byrne Cripps Docherty C Fantasia Zaharakis Goddard

Gibbs Jones Wright HF Stokes Brown CooneyLamb Casboult Sumner F Grimley Daniher Parish

Kreuzer Kerridge Murphy R Leuenberger Z Merrett SimpkinArmfield Graham E.Curnow Phillips Int Crwoley Langford Dea Pol’horne

White Tutt Jamison Emg McKenna Gleeson RedmanArmfield Graham In Crowley Simpkin Polkinghorne

Buckley C.Curnow Out Bird Gleeson McKennaWEST COAST v COLLINGWOOD

Subiaco, Tomorrow 4.40pmSheppard MacKenzie Schofield B Frost Brown Langdon

Wellingham McGovern Hurn HB Oxley Reid Smith Masten Priddis Yeo C Broomhead Treloar Sidebottom

LeCras Darling Jetta HF De Goey Moore Greenwood Cripps Kennedy Lycett F Fasolo Cox Howe

Naitanui Gaff Shuey R Grundy Pendlebury CrispRedden Duggan Butler Hill Int Blair Sinclair Toovey MaynardCole Hutchings McGinnity Emg Aish Goodyear Phillips

Lycett In Broomhead Sinclair LangdonMcInnes Out Varcoe Aish Adams

n He still lives at home n He's got a Cyril Rioli poster on his wall n He seeks advice from unlikely places

IT'S HOW HE ROLLS

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“There’s media, there’s commitments, you’re playing a professional sport, but at the end of the day you’re just playing a game of footy.”

Billings played under-9s atKew Comets, where regular watchers referred to him as “Rolls”. Rolls Royce, that is.

It was here that Billings met McDonald. The pair were thick as thieves through juniors and just about every rep side you could think of. Injury and illness have stopped them from playing an AFL match against each other, but the great mates are well aware the moment will finally arrive next week.

Billings played forOakleigh Chargers and

Vic Metro, where hewas a two-time

under-18 All-Australian.

At

Scotch College he had an idol in Rioli, six years his senior.

When Rioli’s first AFL season ended with a Hawthorn premiership, it brought Billings’ dream that bit closer to reality.

“We used to go and watchhim when the (Scotch) firsts played on a Saturday and he did everything then that you see now — huge marks, unbelievable pace and just magic,” Billings said.

“He was just a massive hero at that school and seeing what he did made it seem a little more achievable.

“I’ve taken a lot of stuff offthe wall, but I’ve got one photo of him. It’s weird because you play against him on the weekend.”

For all his promise, Billingshas not been spared challenges. A nightmare run with injury last year was further tested by reports Essendon would push to include him in the Jake Carlisle trade, citing his

childhood support of the Bombers and his dad

Graeme’s involvement with the club’s Bill Hutchison Foundation.

Saints coach Alan Richardson went straight to Billings.

“I was quickly made awarethe club was like, ‘Don’t worry about it, it’s nothing’,” Billings said.

“I was just thinking aboutmy rehab and just trying to get back. I didn’t really think much of it, to be perfectly honest.”

Publicly, Richardson goton the front foot, declaring he nearly “choked on his Weet-Bix” when Billings was raised as a trade prospect.

“We want another two orthree Jack Billings, we don’t want to get rid of one,” Richardson told SEN.

Graeme Billings had removed himself from the Bill Hutchison Foundation in his son’s draft year and shifted his allegiance to the Saints on draft day.

It’s a

tight-knit family. At 20, Billings is yet to move out of home, aware of the trappings of fame and fortune.

“I go home and I’m just apart of the family, not this AFL footballer,” he said. “I’ve still got all my school friends that I see and you just get treated normally.”

He may end up sharing ahouse with an Olympian; younger sister Sarah has been chosen to represent Australia in the 800m at the world junior championships in Poland in July.

Would he stand a chance?“I’d say anything over 400m she’s got me covered. I’d have to train for it,” he said.

That’s Billings — constantly thinking of getting better, how he can get there and who can help him.

“There’s so much improvement to be made, not only in me, but in the whole

side. For us as a young group, it’s in our hands asto where we want to go,”he said. “It’s up to us.”sam.edmund@news.com.au