WINNING his second best and fairest this week won't stop St Kilda's Jack Steven from striving to take his game to another level in 2016.

The 25-year-old edged out fellow midfielder David Armitage to win his second Trevor Barker Award on Monday night, two years after he claimed his first.

The midfielder now believes he can get even better after learning how to cope with increased opposition attention this season.

"Of course I can [get better], 100 per cent," Steven told AFL.com.au this week.

"The team's getting better, so why can't I?

"People knew who I was this year so I've had a lot more attention and I've been better.

"I might have caught teams off guard back in 2013 and I think this year I've dealt with more attention from teams and still been able to perform.

"I think that's what made this year a little bit better."

While many were surprised Steven polled more votes than Armitage, who had a career-best year, the statistics show why the Victorian surf coast native pulled ahead.

He had 30 more inside 50s than the next Saint, Leigh Montagna, and led the team for tackles and goal assists, as well as being second to Armitage in disposals and contested possessions.

To overcome opposition attention, he spent some additional hours with midfield coach Adam Kingsley to develop new edges to his game.   

"They know your strengths and you've got to make a new strength," he said.

"I've been working pretty closely with Adam - he's a great coach and knows a lot about the game and has been teaching me a lot."

The right foot fracture Steven sustained in the pre-season of 2014 caused a letdown from his maiden best and fairest year.

It robbed him of months of crucial summer training and he wasn't able to play until round four.

When he did come back, he wasn't able to reach the level he did the year before.

This season, the Saints put measures in place to make sure Steven's body didn't break down again as the players were pushed to their limits over pre-season.

"I still played 17 games but I'm an explosive player and I couldn't train at all last year," he said.

"I just played and I didn't have the fitness, so I couldn't deal with a full game of AFL football and I couldn't fully contribute to a full game.

"This year, we sat down and had a plan, a strict plan, and we stuck to it, and I think that was the key, and that's what helped me so much this year."