Jack Billings

[TwoTowers]

Kristian from Footy Tragic had Billings at number 5. His first 6 in order were Boyd, Sheed, Scharenberg, Kelly, Billings, Acres.


JACK BILLINGS

Height: 185cm, Weight: 77kg, DOB: 18/8/1995

Recruited from: Oakleigh Chargers

Jack Billings is probably the silkiest player in this draft. He’s played mostly as a half-forward but I see no reason to believe why he won’t become a midfielder in time once he gets over his knee issues.

He was first noticed at the U/16 National Carnival where he played three games as a forward averaging 14 disposals, 6 marks and 2 goals. In 2012 he played a fair bit of school footy, but he also played some games for the Chargers through the midfield where he began to build his endurance. He averaged 19 disposals and 7 marks from his ten matches. He then played four games at the U/18 National Champs as a 16 year old where he played mostly up forward. He averaged 15 disposals and 6 marks per game, but he kicked 5 goals against South Australia in a performance that really put his name up in lights.

You’re really drafting Billings on what he did last season because we only got to see him six times this season; three times in the TAC Cup and three times in the National Champs. His TAC form was really encouraging despite playing through injury and he showed some elite ball-winning ability that we hadn’t really seen yet. He’s had knee problems throughout the season and only had surgery on it in the last few months.

Billings has made his name as a creative half-forward with the ability to kick inside 50 accurately and effectively. He has excellent running patterns when leading up the flanks and just always bobs up in space and you’re figuring out ‘how’. I think it’s that he reads the play exceptionally well and he’s just a very clever player who knows where to run and where the ball will be. He is a silky left-foot kick and one of the best in the draft in my opinion. Sometimes he can try and be a bit too fancy but he backs himself and often his kicks have a very high difficulty rating. Kicking inside 50 is his trademark. He kicks exceptionally well to the lead (which is one of my favourite skills). Billings is also very good on his opposite foot, a trait many don’t accustom to left-footers.

Billings takes a lot of marks. As I mentioned, it’s his running patterns and his ability to lose his opponent that allows him to get so much space. For a guy his size and slightness, he is a really nice overhead mark and surprisingly strong in the contest.

The question that hangs over Billings’ head is if he can play midfield. Are you spending a top five draft pick on a small forward? I say no you’re not. Billings will start his career as a forward, but I think he will make the transition eventually. He severely needs to bulk up if he wants to achieve that. I don’t think he’s limited to being an outside midfielder either. He’s shown he’s more than capable of getting his hands dirty. He’ll need to work on his endurance as it is probably still below par, but with his injury it would’ve been hard to build much of a base.

Overall, Billings is just class. You can never have enough clever players, and he’s the cleverest of them all. I’ve heard the Nathan Brown comparison and I like it.