ST KILDA has delisted experienced midfielder Farren Ray but has kept the prospect of keeping him at the club as a rookie alive.

The Saints also delisted contracted player Josh Saunders but will re-draft him as a rookie, while Ahmed Saad has been removed from the rookie list.

Ray, 29, joined the Saints in 2009 after five years and 75 games with the Western Bulldogs and became an important player under Ross Lyon.

He did not miss a game in 2009 and 2010 and played in the club's three Grand Finals in those two years. 

Ray did not reach those heights again with the Saints but was a solid performer. A hamstring injury in 2015 restricted him to just eight games but he chalked up the 200-game milestone in round 13.

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Saunders, 21, has played 22 games with the Saints but managed just two games in 2015.

Saad played 33 games and kicked 48 goals in a career that was interrupted by a suspension under the AFL's Anti-Doping code.

He emerged in 2012 and 2013 as a speedy forward but was suspended for 18 months in 2014 after consuming an energy drink on game day that contained a substance banned for use on match day.

The Saints put him on the rookie list but he played just four games this season.

St Kilda has three vacancies on the primary list ahead of the draft and will elevate Jack Sinclair from the rookie list.

St Kilda's Ameet Bains said the club remained hopeful this wasn't the end of the road for two of the players.

"We are committed to selecting Josh in the rookie draft and are open to selecting Farren [Ray] as a rookie in a similar way to what we did with Adam Schneider last season," Bains said.