The Saints broke ground by becoming the first club to host games overseas, playing fixtures in Wellington between 2013 and 2015, all on Anzac Day.

The Wellington experiment was abandoned after crowds slipped from the 22,546 that attended the 2013 match between St Kilda and Sydney, to the 12,125 that watched the Saints lose to Carlton last year in what was Mick Malthouse's last win as an AFL coach.

But the Saints have not given up on New Zealand, having flagged their intentions to play a NAB Challenge game in Auckland as early as next year.

A home and away game would be the logical next step, but the club's chief operating officer Ameet Bains said finding a venue remained an issue.

"These are not concrete dates, they're things that we're working towards," Bains said.

"But our hope would be to be able to play a home and away match in Auckland in 2019.

"The stumbling block in doing that any sooner is the construction of a stadium in Auckland that can accommodate AFL football in terms of the dimensions of the ground."

There are plans to build a stadium with an AFL-sized oval, primarily to fill the need for a superior cricket venue in the city. Just two Tests have been played at Eden Park in 10 years, with the ground favoured for rugby.

"We've been talking to our partners on the ground in Auckland," Bains said.

"Our understanding is that there will be a stadium built in that timeframe that would accommodate Test cricket. But, as with many venues around Australia, it would also be adequate for AFL matches."

Bains said the club remained committed to the Shaky Isles, even if the pre-season game might need to be played at a ground with temporary seating.

"The AFL's obviously formulated an updated international strategy, for which they're on the record as saying New Zealand's a key focus area for them.

"It is part of the broader discussion of playing football in New Zealand."

New Zealand-born Shane Savage played his 100th game on the weekend in the Saints' win over Fremantle, while St Kilda have offered scholarships to youngsters Joe Baker-Thomas, Giovanni Mountain-Silbery and Barclay Miller in recent seasons.

The Saints want to play two away games a year in Tasmania – one each against North Melbourne (Hobart) and Hawthorn (Launceston).

St Kilda lost games to North at Blundstone Arena in 2014 and 2015, and were narrowly beaten by the Hawks at Aurora Stadium this year.

Gold Coast will host Port Adelaide in China next year following an announcement made by the AFL last month.