ST KILDA'S reigning club champion Seb Ross remains uncomfortable with his new status as arguably the Saints' best footballer – and a possible future captain.

The 24-year-old made the transition from good player to star last year, averaging almost 30 disposals and dropping below 20 just once in a consistent campaign.

Ross' rise coincided with triple best and fairest winner Jack Steven, typically the first man tagged at St Kilda, struggling on multiple occasions to shake the extra attention.

So, is that attention headed his way more often in 2018?

"I haven't really thought about that, to be honest," Ross told reporters.

"Jack Steven's still won three best and fairests in four years, so the opposition generally tend to target him.

"He's dealt with it for three or four years now (and) it's something he works really closely on with (assistant coach) Adam Kingsley.

"As a group, we can probably still get better with helping him out, because he's our best player and we want him playing well."

Ross also deflected a question about where he wants to improve, suggesting Jack Billings, Jade Gresham, Jack Steele, Blake Acres, Luke Dunstan and top-10 picks Hunter Clark and Nick Coffield would help determine his form.

Pushed further, he said he wanted to work on becoming more of a burst player away from stoppages – rather than just a handball-first footballer – and kicking more goals.

As for the captaincy, Ross is happy to bide his time behind veteran defender Jarryn Geary, who is likely to be in charge for the second straight season.

"Gears did it for the first year last year and did a great job. I'd expect him to probably do it again," he said.

"We haven't had those meetings yet, but the way he leads and prepares sets a great example for the younger guys and he's got great relationships with everyone.

"If I get voted into a role like that by the boys, obviously I'd be very humbled and probably willing to take it on board, but I won't think about it until the time comes."

Ross was part of an exclusive group of Saints who headed to Darwin for a camp in late November designed to analyse their leadership skills and agree upon pre-season standards.

St Kilda lost significant experience in the past two off-seasons, with Sam Fisher retiring at the end of 2016 and Nick Riewoldt, Leigh Montagna and Sean Dempster following suit last year.

"Those guys stepped out of the leadership group last year and really let us younger guys flourish in that role, and we were still able to pick their brains," Ross said.

"They were still able to add a lot of experience to the leadership group, so having those guys around last year was great.

"I remember when I first got to the club, having guys like Stephen Milne and Lenny Hayes, and you're thinking, 'What's the club going to be like when these guys leave?'.

"But you rock in day one, there are fresh faces, the younger guys are excited and it's sort of just time to move on."