The 24-year-old has reassured the Saints he remains committed to them, but Hawthorn's move has forced the club to reconsider its stance on pick five. St Kilda have so far refused to budge on trading the pick, and are confident they can find a way to secure Carlisle without sacrificing that pick. The club released a statement on Thursday night saying it would continue to work with Essendon, and quoting Carlisle's manager Anthony McConville. "Given Jake's preference is to play at St Kilda, my focus is to work with the clubs to get him to his intended destination," McConville said. "I have full faith and confidence that all parties can work together to achieve a fair outcome for everyone."

As Fairfax Media reported exclusively on Thursday, the Hawks, Bombers and North Melbourne have put together a three-club trade that would scuttle the Saints' plans. Under the proposed deal that the clubs began to piece together on Tuesday - as a preliminary approach from Richmond went nowhere - Carlisle would become a Hawthorn player and young Hawk Jed Anderson would be moved to North Melbourne along with Essendon's third round pick, 44. The rebuilding Bombers would then receive picks 15 and 18 in the draft, leaving them with five picks inside 25 following Jake Melksham's move to Melbourne. Picks 15 and 18 represent 2097 "points" according to the AFL's new draft value index – more than pick five (1878 points). Pick five may become pick six, seven or eight on draft night, depending on whether clubs place top-five bids for northern academy trio Callum Mills, Jacob Hopper and Matthew Kennedy. The Saints had been exploring ways to turn pick five into two first-round selections – handing one to the Bombers and keeping one. Essendon list manager Adrian Dodoro said on Thursday the club was now committed to following through on the deal with the Hawks and Kangaroos, given pick five was not on the table.

The deal will ultimately depend on Carlisle, who named St Kilda as his preferred destination in a radio interview last week after also considering Carlton, and must approve any trade. "I think Jake probably had his heart set on going to StKilda. That may be where he still wishes to go but Hawthorn is a good option," Dodoro told AFL Trade Radio on Thursday. "I'm sure he'd prefer to go to Hawthorn than to go into the pre-season draft." Meanwhile, Richmond defender David Astbury and North Melbourne midfielder Ryan Bastinac have flown to Brisbane, where they will meet with Lions officials on Friday. The Lions are one of a handful of clubs interested in Bastinac, who has two years to run on his contract with North, while Astbury could help the Tigers secure Carlton's Chris Yarran. Brisbane, Richmond and the Blues are exploring a deal that would see the Lions secure Astbury and Tom Bell, Richmond land Yarran and Carlton add some more draft picks to their collection. The Lions, who on Thursday released Matthew Leuenberger to Essendon as a free agent, have already reached a deal with Geelong for tall forward Josh Walker and midfielder Jarrad Jansen. The Cats have agreed to trade the pair for a future third-round draft pick, which the club may look to involve in a deal for Gold Coast ruckman Zac Smith. The Lions were compensated with a second-round pick, 39, for Leuenberger, who has signed a three-year deal with the Bombers. Collingwood wingman Paul Seedsman nominated Adelaide as his preferred new club, after considering Gold Coast and North Melbourne.