ST KILDA defender Sean Dempster wants to play on next season and is confident the club will offer him a contract soon.

The 2012 All Australian missed three matches midway during the season after he required an operation to his right knee, with cartilage floating around in the joint.

Dempster told AFL.com.au he wanted to play on and experience finals once again.

"I'm in talks with the club at the moment and everything seems positive, as much as they can be for a 32-year-old at this sort of stage," Dempster said.

"I'd love to keep going. Over the past three years, our wins have been lean."

Dempster has lined up in five Grand Finals – two in his time at the Sydney Swans, and three at the Saints.

While the last of those deciders was in 2010, good times seem on the horizon for the Saints. They just missed out on finals but victory against the Brisbane Lions on Sunday would mean they have doubled their win tally from last year.

To thank its members and supporters, children under 15, accompanied by an adult, can enter the game for free.

The membership tally at St Kilda grew above 38,000 in August, the first time that mark has been broken in five years.

Having surgery at the time he did caused some consternation for Dempster. With his first baby due in September and no contract for 2017, he feared for his future.

"It fell during the mid-season break when you go away for a holiday, so you have all this time away from the club. Although you're having a little bit of a rest, you still wonder, 'How am I going to go? What's the club going to think of this?' because you have no contact with them," he said.

He thought going under the knife may have made the situation worse, and he experienced a clicking in his knee that had not occurred before the procedure.

"I was a little bit worried that I may have to go in for a second operation straight away," he said.

The doctors were able to allay his concerns, telling him the clicking would subside after the swelling from the operation went away.

His knee is still sore but he puts that down to having a shorter than ideal recovery time in a bid to get back on to the field as quickly as possible. Being able to rest in the off-season should allow the bone bruising to settle down, with no further surgery necessary.

Assuming the club chooses to keep Dempster on, Jake Carlisle will provide a helping hand in defence next season.

Carlisle experienced a rocky start at the Saints, with footage of him snorting an unidentified white powder being broadcast on television before he was suspended as part of the 'Essendon 34'.

The veteran is keen to see Carlisle on the field, with Dempster, Sam Fisher and Sam Gilbert often having the difficult task of playing on the big forwards.

"(Carlisle's) size and his presence on the field is something we've been screaming out for," he said.

Carlisle's ban was handed down in January, barely giving him any chance to become familiar with his new teammates.

"It must have been hard for him, and uncomfortable, coming to a new club under those sort of circumstance. I thought he did really well," Dempster said.

"He came in with an injury and wasn't really part of the (main) group, so that probably made it even harder, but he embraced that. He's an outgoing character, so that played to his strengths."

Being out of football for so long would have whet Carlisle's appetite to play football again, according to Dempster.

"I'm assuming he's raring to go and can't wait to get into it," Dempster said.