When the question of staying or going gets asked of an AFL player this time of year, it generally relates to whether he will remain at his club beyond the end of the season. The same question can be asked of Jason Holmes and St Kilda, but another stay-or-go query is about to be answered. Holmes, the first born-and-raised American to play a senior AFL game, is looking to apply for permanent residency Down Under.

The former college basketballer eschewed the safe option when he ventured to Australia to play a foreign sport. Paradoxically though, the safe option now is to stay here, away from the uncertain and turbulent political climate back home. "Long-term I would definitely like to stay in Australia," he told Fairfax Media.

Jason Holmes: "Long-term I would definitely like to stay in Australia." Credit:Getty Images

"I feel safe here. I'm not saying I don't miss home, because I do, but I do feel safe here."

No one could blame him for being homesick. On Friday morning, Holmes spoke to his parents, who told him that brother Andre – an NFL wide receiver with the Buffalo Bills – had a new baby boy, his second son, while Jason also wishes he could be at a friend's wedding this week. Holmes shares his experiences with Collingwood tall, and fellow American, Mason Cox.