The Saints' second pre-season series game saw the team travel to the regional town of Morwell in the La Trobe Valley of East Gippsland in south-eastern Victoria.
The Saints were scheduled to play a match in Shanghai in June against Port Adelaide, however, ahead of the 2020 season the AFL announced that the game had been moved to Melbourne due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
[25] Due to COVID-19, players are required to follow strict guidelines and avoid contact with the wider public as part of the conditions set by the government and AFL to allow resumption of the competition.
This was due to additional restrictions being placed on Victorian teams flying to Queensland following a spike in Coronavirus cases in Victoria in late June, resulting in the need to again adjust the fixture.
[27] On 3 July the AFL announced a significant fixture change along with a relocation of the Saints to a 'hub' in the Queensland region of Noosa, possibly for the remainder of the season.
[30] On 24 July the Saints announced that veteran defender Nathan Brown would leave the team's Queensland hub to return to Melbourne for family reasons.
Brown's decision was fully supported by the club with Simon Lethlean saying that "he is such a respected member of our team and the spiritual leader of the connection, culture and standards that we are building here at the Saints.
Saying that, we were prepared to play wherever the game was fixtured and I know internally with the discussions I have had with players and coaches, that was certainly the mindset of the group," CEO Matt Finnis stated.
As Richmond finished in third place on the ladder, the Tigers had the right to select the Queensland-based venue for their 'home' final and chose Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast.
Of Carlisle's departure (which will rule him out for he remainder of the season), Chief Operating Officer Simon Lethlean said the club was fully supportive of the decision: "we thank Jake for staying as long as he possibly could before heading to NSW to be with Mel for the birth.
[37] As a result of the three forced changes, Shane Savage, Josh Battle and Jonathan Marsh were added to the squad for the semi-final against Richmond.
King finished runner-up in the Saints’ goalkicking (20) and outright first for marks inside-50 (26) and earned a Rising Star nomination in round 12 against Essendon.