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ST KILDA is hoping Jake Carlisle will make a decision on his preferred new football home by the end of the week after meeting the Essendon tall on Monday, chief operating officer Ameet Bains says.
Bains told NAB AFL Trade Radio on Tuesday that Carlisle had undergone a medical at St Kilda on Monday but still had more physical testing to complete.
"There's a little bit more to follow up on. It wasn't done in one hit but hopefully we'll come to a landing in the next day or two, and then certainly from Jake's end hopefully a decision is reached by the end of the week," Bains said.
Bains confirmed that Carlisle was set to choose between St Kilda and Carlton, and said St Kilda had addressed Carlisle's poor on-field body language in the latter half of 2015 in its discussions with the Bomber.
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"There are a few things to work through. It's always difficult making judgments on the outside without knowing everything that's gone on in the inside and clearly it's been a very difficult time for everyone at Essendon over the last couple of years," Bains said.
"So we've certainly had to get more of an understanding on where things have got to over that period – it's been good."
Bains said St Kilda planned to play Carlisle primarily as a defender if he chose Linen House as his new home.
Meanwhile, Bains was confident St Kilda would reach a deal with Collingwood on midfielder Nathan Freeman in the trade period, saying the club's initial discussions with the Magpies had been positive.
Freeman recently requested a trade to the Saints after failing to play a senior game in two seasons with the Magpies, when he struggled to overcome persistent hamstring injuries.
Bains said St Kilda's medical team had spent some time assessing Freeman recently and was confident he could put his hamstring woes behind him.
"We're comfortable with where things sit. He's obviously missed lot of footy so it's not like he's going to come back and be ready to go straight away, but in saying that we're confident in terms of his long-term future," he said.
"We certainly did like him and rate him in his draft year so we're excited that he wants to play for us."
Bains was confident Freeman, who was 2013's No.10 draft pick, would be fit for round one next season, but said the Saints expected he would take time to find form after missing so much football over the past two years.
