ST KILDA still hasn't given up hope of securing West Coast defender Mitch Brown, despite the Eagles declaring they will not trade him.

Brown is contracted to West Coast for 2013 but has been strongly linked to the Saints.??

St Kilda had discussed the prospect of a trade involving homesick West Australian Jamie Cripps but the Eagles were not interested in that deal.

But St Kilda head of football Chris Pelchen said he had not given up hope of getting Brown to Seaford after he had expressed interest in making the move as recently as this week.

"We've respected all along that Mitch is a contracted player with West Coast and as much as we'd love to have him at our club we do have to respect player contracts and also the fact that his employer currently is the West Coast Eagles," Pelchen said on Melbourne radio station SEN.

"We've indicated throughout the three-week period that we're keen to have Mitch at our club.

"Mitch is very keen to be with us and that has been emphasised again in the last 24 to 48 hours. We're having ongoing dialogue with them (West Coast), we're still hopeful we can get a deal done but there is no certainty on that one."

Pelchen said the Saints had had little discussion with Melbourne on the future of defender Farren Ray.

The Demons had spoken to Ray's management about securing him but were yet to offer a suitable trade to the Saints.

Melbourne has been one of the most active players of the Gillette AFL Trade and free agency periods, having already secured Chris Dawes, Shannon Byrnes and youngsters Jesse Hogan, Dominic Barry and Jack Viney.

Pelchen said Ray would be happy to stay a Saint if no deal could be worked out.

"He indicated to us he'd be open to a trade but at this point Melbourne hasn't been forthcoming with anything they could possibly trade with because they've been so busy through this trade period," he said.

The Saints traded for Gold Coast ruckman Tom Hickey on Tuesday night, giving up pick 13 while upgrading their second and third round selections.

Pelchen said Hickey would be a valuable acquisition as the landscape changes for ruckmen over the next couple of years.

"It will be up to Scott (Watters) and the coaches as to how they want to use Tom but they were very keen on getting his services, particularly as we look forward to the possibility of capped interchange rotations," he said.

"Tom has got an outstanding tank and his endurance is one of the leading ruckmen of the competition. We think it augurs well for the future to have Ben (McEvoy) and Tom on the list."

And Pelchen hinted that there could be even more movement ahead for the Saints in the last three days of the Gillette AFL trade period.

"We're still open-minded on it no doubt. We're well-positioned in the draft now with picks 25, 26, 46 and 47 so that's four selections inside selection 47, which we feel gives us a strong position in the draft," he said.

"We've got discussions taking place. Clubs are showing interest in our players, likewise we are in theirs so I'd say the next 48 hours could be quite active."

Luke Holmesby covers St Kilda news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter - @AFL_Luke