THOUGHT St Kilda's recruiting raid was over?

Think again.

After landing six fresh faces in last year's Telstra AFL Trade Period, Saints chief executive Matt Finnis has declared his club is in a position to go again at the end of this season.

The Saints acquired Bradley Hill, Dougal Howard, Paddy Ryder, Dan Butler, Zak Jones and Ryan Abbott last year and sat fourth heading into this week's round nine.

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"Pleasingly, we've still got some (salary cap) room there to keep growing," Finnis told ABC on Thursday.

"We're a young list and we hope that that growth is going to come from within.

"We've got to keep room in our salary cap because we expect some of these young players, whether it's a Max King, a Hunter Clark or a Nick Coffield, are going to be real stars of the competition in the future.

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA - JULY 11: Hunter Clark of the Saints handballs during the round 6 AFL match between the Fremantle Dockers and the St Kilda Saints at Metricon Stadium on July 11, 2020 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images via AFL Photos)

"It'll be about having the room to grow with those players, but certainly we don't think we're finished in a list management sense and hope to add to our list at the end of this year."

The Saints were able to 'bank' salary cap room after multiple years of underspend, having saved money on their list after missing finals from 2013-2019.

For a number of years there when we were at the wrong end of the ladder, we gradually built up a bank of room that would position us when the players were there to be attracted to be able to go and do that

- Matt Finnis

Under AFL rules, if a club spends as little as 95 per cent in its cap one season, it has three years to spend up to, and no more than, 105 per cent.

"I think like all clubs you're trying to strategically put yourself in a position where you can keep growing, keep investing and attracting players," Finnis said.  

"For a number of years there when we were at the wrong end of the ladder, we gradually built up a bank of room that would position us when the players were there to be attracted to be able to go and do that."

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA - JULY 11: Zak Jones of the Saints celebrates a goal during the round 6 AFL match between the Fremantle Dockers and the St Kilda Saints at Metricon Stadium on July 11, 2020 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images via AFL Photos)

The Saints still hold their first-round pick to use at the end of this season but traded away both their second and third-round picks for 2020 last year.

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They aggressively chased out-of-contract Collingwood forward Jordan De Goey in 2018 before he re-signed for two years and inquired on Adelaide free agent Brad Crouch last year while he was still in contract.

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King, Clark and Coffield all have deals to 2022, with Jack Steele, who has finished on the podium in the past two Saints best and fairests, suddenly their priority re-signing this year.

Other key Saints without deals for 2021 include Josh Battle, Ben Paton, Jack Lonie, Jake Carlisle, uncapped midfielder Jack Bytel and captain Jarryn Geary.

Finnis departed for Queensland on Thursday where he will spend two weeks in the AFL quarantine centre in Southport before integrating into the Saints' Noosa hub that will, by that stage, be housing a travelling party of up to 130 people.

The Saints will 'host' Sydney at the Gabba on Saturday for the fifth annual Pride Game between the two clubs.