ST KILDA axed seven players yesterday, adding to the two players who retired at the end of the season.

Jayden Attard, Matthew Ferguson, Michael Rix, Shane Birss, Charlie Gardiner and rookies Glenn Chivers and Luke van Rheenan were cut from the Saints' list.

Only Birss, who has played 71 games, including 20 with St Kilda, confirmed that he would nominate for the pre-season draft.

The delistings, plus the retirements of Robert Harvey and Fraser Gehrig, and the extra two rookie places that are available to each team next season, mean the Saints have 10 vacancies on their list — the bulk of which they intend to fill with young players from the national draft.

The club has already picked up Farren Ray, who was traded by the Western Bulldogs.

St Kilda's list management manager, Matthew Drain, said yesterday the club was looking to balance its short-term aspirations with the need for long-term development.

"We'd like to think that we always are in winning and development mode simultaneously," he said.

"But we also understand that what we've got to get right over the next two or three years is our drafting, so there's the opportunity for a sustained window (of opportunity)."

The Saints have picks 13, 47, 48, 63, 79 and 95 in the national draft, and have been strongly linked with former Eagles superstar Ben Cousins in the pre-season draft.

"The major aspect when we were looking at our list was to try and keep our core group together, but also to provide opportunities to some young players that we have blooded through the last two years," Drain said.

■Western Bulldogs ruckman Peter Street has been delisted, football manager James Fantasia said yesterday.

The 28-year-old big man has played 77 games, including 60 since joining the Bulldogs in 2004. There has been speculation that Street could join a SANFL club next year.

The Bulldogs have also announced the signing of two Fijian players as part of the international scholarship scheme.

A club representative went to Fiji to scout for talent, and was overwhelmed by the response, with more than 400 contenders turning out at two separate sessions last week.

The club has signed Inoke Ratu, 19, and Solomoni Loki, 16, under the scheme.