JACK Billings played in two Saints wins before he experienced a loss, but since round five the 18-year-old endured 11 straight defeats – a streak that was comprehensively ended on Saturday afternoon.

While Billings admitted the run of losses were difficult to deal with, his belief in his teammates and the direction of the club never wavered.

“It’s been a tough 10 or 11 weeks and I guess today just proves why you play footy,” the classy left-footer told SAINTS.com.au following St Kilda’s 58-point demolition of Fremantle on the weekend.

“We’ve been doing it tough but the boys have kept at it the whole time.”

Individually, Billings has been one of the Saints most consistent performers in recent weeks, collecting 20 or more disposals in three out of his last five games and chiming in with 12 goals for the season to be St Kilda’s third leading goal-kicker.

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But after yet another impressive outing in which the teenager registered 21 disposals and five inside 50s, he was keen to deflect any praise towards his teammates’ well rounded performance.

“It was just great to see a four-quarter effort today,” he said.

“Everyone brought in to team defence and that sort of stuff and we went from there. Through games this year we’ve been good in patches but haven’t been able to sustain it.”

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Despite being 16 years his junior, Billings has spent the year learning off Lenny Hayes and said the emotion of the week played some part in St Kilda’s inspired performance.

“All the boys just lifted and it was great to see all the supporters out and they seemed to be a bit louder as well.

“Lenny is a champion and he deserves everything he’s getting.”

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