He may have just produced his best season yet, but St Kilda wingman Jack Sinclair believes he still has plenty of improvement left in him.

After finding himself in and out of the team in 2016, Sinclair found a permanent home on a wing this season, where he played the final 17 games and averaged career-high numbers across the board for disposals (20.8), uncontested possessions, (12.6) score involvements (6.0) and inside 50s (2.7).

The 22-year-old, who was rewarded with a two-year contract extension in July, said a move from a forward pocket to a wing was behind his rise during the winter.

“It was a big improvement on my first couple of years, but I still feel like I’ve got plenty more improvement left in me,” Sinclair told Melbourne radio station 3AW on Tuesday night.

“I was pretty happy with my season overall. I spent a lot more time in the midfield playing on the wing and I think that position suited me pretty well.”

After missing a large chunk of the past 18 months due to foot injuries, highly rated key defender Hugh Goddard began the pre-season with the rest of the Saints’ first to fourth-year players last week, in a major step towards his return to senior football.

“Hughie has been travelling really well,” Sinclair said.

“He joined in with the main group for the first day back which is really exciting for him given he’s had a few injuries over the course of the last 18 months. So it’s great to see him back out on the track.”

If St Kilda is going to leap from the fringe of the eight to feature in September in 2018, Sinclair says the Saints must close the gap between their best and worst over the summer to return to the finals stage for the first time since 2011.

“I think for us the biggest thing is our consistency – the gap between our best and worst in the last few years is clearly too great if we want to get to where we want to get to,” he said.

“There are quite a few things we can do to bridge that gap, but the main thing we’ve been speaking about is just that opportunity for consistency.

“We know our best footy can match it with anyone. That game against Richmond was pretty amazing to be a part of, but the next week we came back to Etihad and got pumped by the Bombers.”