ST KILDA coach Brett Ratten says the club board's questioning of the pursuit of controversial Collingwood free agent Jordan De Goey is standard procedure.
The board has asked for more information from the football department after the Saints expressed interest in recruiting De Goey.
The Collingwood star's future is up in the air after the Magpies withdrew a lucrative contract offer amid the fallout from his ill-fated mid-season trip to Bali.
De Goey is a restricted free agent and could be on the move after playing 132 games for Collingwood since his debut in 2015.
St Kilda's board wants to be sure De Goey would be the right fit before ticking off any list management moves for the 26-year-old.
De Goey has a chequered off-field history, including being arrested for his involvement in a drunken incident in a New York club last October.
Ratten said the board's questioning of the football department was not uncommon.
"Like all free agents, we investigate everybody, especially when you’re bringing a high-profile player in," he told reporters at Moorabbin on Wednesday.
"I think all boards ask for information, it’s not different at our footy club to other footy clubs.
"It doesn’t matter if we’re employing new staff members or players, we have to run things past the board and they have the right to challenge and ask questions.
"He’s a very talented player but we’re still working through that."
It comes as St Kilda face a fight to keep its finals spot ahead of a challenging end to the home-and-away season.
The Saints jumped back into eighth spot after holding off Hawthorn last Saturday for a second successive victory.
St Kilda head to Geelong on Saturday night to take on the ladder-leading Cats, before Marvel Stadium clashes with top-eight teams Brisbane and Sydney.
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But in a major boost for St Kilda, key defender Dougal Howard will be an important inclusion to handle star Cats forwards Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron.
Howard hurt his hamstring against Carlton in round 16 and has missed the last four matches.
"(Howard) will play for sure, unless something's gone amiss from the boundary line into the room, he'll be right to go," Ratten quipped.