Jack Billings seeks advice from Scott Pendlebury after being struck down by injury

JACK Billings had barely missed a game of footy in his life but had just sat out half the season with a stress fracture. Searching for answers, he turned to an unlikely source.

NAB Challenge AFL. Melbourne v St Kilda at Etihad Stadium. Jack Billings kicks at goal 1st qtr . Pic: Michael Klein

JACK Billings is explaining the best two hours he had 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 Billings has 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’ve always 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 you make your career and that it’s up to you. You’ve got to get to work.”

Jack Billings back at his junior football gound in Kew. Picture: Ellen Smith

Hard work has never been an issue for the midfielder-forward with a left foot like an assassin.

With each game, the footy world is getting a better look at a player whose skill, poise and finishing class 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 he credits for having a profound influence on his development.

But his admiration for Pendlebury made him go the extra step; something he’s been doing since he could walk.

I’d probably say I’m a footy nerd. That’s why my injury last year was so challenging because I just had to let go.

- Jack Billings

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

He was the Essendon fan who 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 No.3 pick in the 2013 national draft who still lives at home in Kew and 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 last year 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.

“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.”

Jack Billings looked up to Cyril Rioli at Scotch College. Picture: Getty Images

The son of Graeme and Letitia and brother of Sarah and Kate, Billings played under-9s at Kew 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.

I’ve taken a lot of stuff off the wall, but I’ve got one photo of him (Cyril Rioli). It’s weird because you play against him on the weekend.

- Jack Billings

Billings played for Oakleigh Chargers and Vic Metro, where he was a two-time under-18 All-Australian.

At Scotch College he had an idol in Rioli, six year levels 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 watch him 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 off the wall, but I’ve got one photo of him. It’s weird because you play against him on the weekend.”

For all his promise, Billings has 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’s involvement with the club’s Bill Hutchison Foundation.

Saints coach Alan Richardson went straight to Billings.

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

“My head space at the time, I was just thinking about my rehab and just trying to get back. I didn’t really think much of it, to be perfectly honest.”

Billings has overcome a nightmare run of injuries. Picture: Michael Klein

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

“We want another two or three 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 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.

“It’s been a really good thing in that I go home and I’m just a part 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 a house with an Olympian; younger sister Sarah has been chosen to represent Australia in the 800m at the world junior championships in Poland in July.

Billings knows the question is coming. 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 as to where we want to go,” he said. “It’s up to us.”