THE Brisbane Lions appear to be the only hope for Ben Cousins to return to the AFL after St Kilda last night finally declared that it would not pursue the former Eagles captain.

The St Kilda board and executive met for more than two hours before ultimately deciding that the club would not choose Cousins, who would almost certainly have gone to the Saints in Saturday's draft had the board given its approval.

St Kilda had firmed as Cousins' preferred club in recent weeks, and it is understood that the Brisbane Lions would have ceded to his wish to become a Saint had last night's board meeting gone in his favour.

The Lions will meet today and consider their position on Cousins, but they now appear to have the option of drafting him in either the national draft or pre-season draft.

Cousins, who was allowed to return to football by the AFL provided he met stringent conditions, including up to three drug tests a week, has to nominate for the national draft today or he can nominate for the pre-season draft by December 9.

The Saints said the decision was the culmination of five months of research and analysis of Cousins and where he would fit in the club's plans.

In their presentations to the board last night, St Kilda coach Ross Lyon and football operations manager Matthew Drain reviewed the club's playing list and discussed Cousins — and the various pros and cons — in terms of where they saw the playing group.

It appears that the club's high priority on younger players — it has delisted a number of experienced players and lost champion Robert Harvey to retirement — was a factor in the decision to turn down the 30-year-old Cousins. The ramifications for sponsorship also was discussed at the meeting, which was attended by the full board, headed by president Greg Westaway, chief executive Archie Fraser, commercial operations chief Anthony Moore, chief financial officer Marcus Van Lint, media consultant Matt Schmidt, Lyon and Drain.

The Saints said the decision "not to proceed" was unanimous, weighing up all factors. The club had undertaken extensive research into his efforts at drug rehabilitation.

In a statement last night, the club said: "After much deliberation, the St Kilda Football Club Board and executive met today and made the decision not to proceed with pursuing Ben Cousins.

"The club conducted a complex five-month review on Ben Cousins and its own playing group, resulting in a list-management blueprint with a long-term and strategic approach."

Fraser said: "We owed it to ourselves to undertake a rigorous and thorough review and have now made our decision. This is a decision that we didn't take lightly and we still believe that for the right club, Ben could well be a great opportunity."

In the statement, the Saints thanked "Ben and his management for the professional manner in which they have conducted discussions."