ST KILDA coach Brett Ratten has barely had access to Jade Gresham in his two years in charge at Moorabbin, but he is about to get back a player who can be the difference maker the club has been searching for.

Gresham played only three games in 2021 after rupturing his Achilles against Essendon in round three, after missing the second half of 2020 – including both finals – with stress fractures in his back.

Fewer than two months after Ratten was appointed as Alan Richardson's full-time replacement in September 2019, the Saints acquired Bradley Hill, Dougal Howard, Paddy Ryder, Dan Butler and Zak Jones during a bumper trade period for the club, before adding Brad Crouch and Jack Higgins at the end of 2020.

That collection of names has generated plenty of discussion since list manager James Gallagher lured them to RSEA Park. And while some have already proven to be shrewd recruits, consistency has been an issue for most.

But long before the Saints picked apart opposition lists, the club used pick No.18 – the pick they wrangled back from Essendon as part of the Jake Carlisle deal – on the dynamic midfielder-forward from South Morang.

Gresham was 22 years old when he last played a full season. Now he is a much more professional 24-year-old who has been bruised by the game in a way many are, coming out the other side a different prospect.

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If Ratten is going to lead St Kilda back to the finals for the second time in the space of three years, he needs another A-grade talent to join captain Jack Steele. There aren’t too many capable of entering the elite bracket at RSEA Park, but Gresham is certainly one of them.

"He's going pretty well and the Achilles is going well. He's in the best shape in his time at the footy club, which is great," Ratten told AFL.com.au at RSEA Park.

"Sometimes with players, when you take away the game their hunger and desire grows. I think that's really happened with Jade. The way he's come back his running has improved; there's elements of his professionalism that's just risen to a new level, which is great.

"Sometimes you’ve got to take the game away to understand what you really want. I think that's what he's really understood. He wants to get back and he wants to play the best footy he can. That will be exciting because he is one player that brings excitement.

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"He's so dynamic and he's one of those players whether he's had 25 touches or 30 touches, he might only need 12 or 15 to change a game. That's something that's important. He is a game changer who can change momentum for us. To get him out and playing will be important."

Gresham is expected to return to his role predominantly in attack this season where he will be joined by another highly rated Saint who has produced great patches of football, but not a truly great season just yet.

Ratten expects Jack Billings to spend more time across half-forward this season, rather than on a wing where he has played the majority of his football in recent years.

"His role will change this year by not playing as much midfield. Some of his best seasons have been hitting the scoreboard and having a big contribution that way," he said.

"He will play more front half than he will play midfield. He has played well on the wing and that’s the flexibility of our team. He'll be able to go up on to the wing and contribute up there and if it's not going so well as a forward he can also go up there."

The 2013 No.3 pick wasn't included in the leadership group along with former captaincy contender Seb Ross, with the Saints opting for a five-man structure this year instead of the seven they had in 2021.

Ratten explained the decision came down to the process identifying a gap between the top-five leaders and the next group. 

"The leadership group was made up of people voting and that was players and staff. It's like most leadership voting at all clubs, there is a cut-off point. There was a gap and he was in that next section and that probably shows us that's where our leadership group sits," he said.

"He's got some leadership qualities and he's a great role model around the football club. It's interesting when you look at leaders of the competition who have been in the leadership group then out of it and back in it again; I wouldn’t be saying that Jack Billings won't be a leader of this football club again. I think it's a year where he's had some feedback, he'll develop and get back to where he wants to get to."

While St Kilda has invested heavily in the trade period under Gallagher's watch, Gresham and Billings – two of the five first-round picks on the list who were drafted by the Saints – have the potential to lead the club back into the top-eight and beyond.