BILLINGS, SAINTS IN TALKS

ST KILDA can bank on Jack Billings helping drive the club’s mission to return to September next season.

Billings is close to signing a four-year contract extension that will take the playmaker to 30 and remove his name from this year’s free agency list.

The Saints and Billings are ironing out the finer details, such as bonus triggers, on a contract that will lock the silky half-forward in until 2025.

Billings burst out of the blocks in 2021 until a plantar fascia injury suffered in a pregame warm-up curtailed that form.

The reliable match-winner has played 144 games for the Saints, missing just six matches in the past five seasons.

Like many clubs, the Saints are waiting for the AFL to clarify rules governing the salary cap and list sizes before they advance their off-season plans.