JAKE Carlisle finds himself in an intriguing race against time.
The gun defender is carefully balancing the final stages of a meticulously planned rehabilitation from a back injury with the need to play a certain amount of 2019 matches in order to be guaranteed being on the St Kilda list next year.
It is believed Carlisle needs to play at least seven of the remaining 12 matches to reach the contract clause which automatically triggers a 2020 deal with the Saints.
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Carlisle is likely to return via the VFL, and it could be three weekends away.
His contract with St Kilda has regularly been complicated, and twice altered to factor in circumstances unrelated to the Saints.
Within days of agreeing to the deal in late 2015, a video of him snorting white powder was widely circulated, and then he was banned from playing for all of 2016 in a suspension related to his time at Essendon during the performance-enhancing drugs saga of 2012.
Even if Carlisle falls short of reaching the games quota, he would likely look to strike a fresh deal with St Kilda.
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