THE FUTURE of St Kilda veteran Sam Fisher remains uncertain after the club revealed it would wait until after the trade period before making a decision on the defender's place on its list in 2017. 

The Saints delisted four players on Wednesday, including defender Luke Delaney. Tom Curren, Josh Saunders and Brenton Payne were also delisted. 

Fisher, 34, has played just 12 games this season due to persistent hamstring issues. But he did play against the Brisbane Lions on Sunday and is keen to continue on next year. 

Coach Alan Richardson said a fortnight ago that the club would sit down at the end of the year and discuss Fisher's future.

Saints chief operating officer Ameet Bains released a statement on Wednesday confirming that no decision had been made on Fisher and the club would not be in a position to make a call until after the trade period.  

"Ongoing conversations with Sam and his management have been transparent and productive," Bains said.

"Sam has expressed his initial desire to play on in 2017 if this fits into the club's list management strategy.

"At this stage, both parties will continue discussions ahead of the upcoming trade period, after which we will be in a better position to make a more informed decision about the future."

Former Essendon key defender Jake Carlisle will have his WADA suspension lifted in November and is set to bolster the Saints' defensive stocks in 2017. 

But youngster Hugh Goddard is still recovering from a ruptured Achilles. 

Sean Dempster, 32, is also coming out of contract but told AFL.com.au last week that he was confident of gaining a new deal.