After being rewarded for his strong form at Sandringham with a spot on the plane to Tasmania, St Kilda midfielder Jack Sinclair carried that form across Bass Strait with him on the weekend.

Sinclair, 22, had been forced to bide his time in the VFL across the first five rounds, where he spent most of the second half of last season after playing seven of the first ten games.

But on his return to the main stage, Sinclair produced one of his best performances yet, collecting a career-high 21 disposals, five marks, five inside 50s and two goal assists.  

“It’s a lot harder to get a game here now than probably in my first year,” Sinclair told saints.com.au after St Kilda’s 75-point win on Saturday.

“It’s been a bit of a grind getting back in, but I’m really happy with the form I’ve had and being able to get a bit of the footy today which was good.”

Monday Wash-Up: Round 6 v Hawthorn

Sinclair said he has had to focus more on his contest work and the defensive side of the game to earn another crack at St Kilda.

“I’ve had to work on my contest my defensive side of the game. I’m comfortable when I have the footy in my hands, so more just the defensive stuff and winning my contest,” he said.

The former rookie praised the eye-catching first-up performance by Koby Stevens, after the former Western Bulldogs and West Coast midfielder provided plenty of spark around the ball for the Saints.

“He was really impressive. He’s just a really good contest player, so it was really important having him back in the team,” he said.

“He got on the end of a couple of goals which was good and he gave us strong drive out of the midfield, got the ball going our way and certainly makes it easier to score when we win centre bounce.”

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