Nick Dal Santo
Encyclopedia
Nick Dal Santo is an Australian rules football
er for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League
(AFL).
and made his debut for them in 2002 against the Geelong Football Club
. He managed 18 matches in his first year although he struggled at times in what was a poor season for the club. In just his second game, Dal Santo had the opportunity to win a game for St Kilda with the last kick of the match, with any score required, but his kick missed the distance.
Dal Santo could not break into an improving St Kilda side in early 2003, but when he did in Round 15 he did not look back, playing every match for the rest of the season and establishing himself as a skillful and creative midfielder.
winning side – St Kilda's second AFL Cup win.
Former Essendon Football Club
coach Kevin Sheedy, during the 2005 season, likened Dal Santo to triple-Brownlow Medal
list Ian Stewart
for his exceptional skill and courage.
In that same year, former Hawthorn champion Gary Ayres said this of Dal Santo in an interview:
"He's got a high skill level on both sides of his body. He's a good reader of the play, he's got football smarts which are very hard to teach and the thing he does very well is he's got that ability to be composed when he uses the ball. He doesn't seem to get too flustered or rushes it, and that's a pretty special quality to be able to have when you play elite football because a lot of players can get the ball but do they make the right decision?"
Dal Santo came of age as a footballer during the 2004 season, playing every match and kicking 11 goals in a St Kilda side that made a Preliminary Final. In 2005 he took his game to a new level, racking up over 500 disposals for the year and finishing a close third in the 2005 Brownlow Medal
, behind eventual winner Ben Cousins
.
Dal Santo was recognised for his excellent season with selection in the 2005 All-Australian Team
as a midfield player, his first career All-Australian Team award.
Early in the 2006 season St Kilda lost star midfielder Lenny Hayes
to a knee ligament problem and the captain, Luke Ball
, was also struggling with injury. In Hayes' absence Dal Santo began to cop a heavy tag from opposition teams each week and this lessened his impact on the game. He still performed strongly for the year, however, and continued to be one of St Kilda's best players.
In 2007, under new coach Ross Lyon, Dal Santo played some match-winning football, notching up 16 Brownlow votes for the year. He also played his 100th consecutive game in Round 20 of 2007, which meant that he had not missed a game since mid-2003. He finished the year with a fourth place finish in the club's Best and Fairest
, the Trevor Barker Award
.
winning side, the club's third pre-season cup win.
Dal Santo was dropped in Round 13 of the 2008 season due to lack of form. The temporary demotion spurred Dal Santo on to a good finish to the season – picking up 530 possessions (including 335 kicks), 12 goals and 75 tackles. Although his form was down on that of previous seasons, he picked up Brownlow Medal votes in two games and also played a major part in St Kilda's semifinal victory over Collingwood, with 32 possessions, five tackles and one goal.
Dal Santo played in 21 of 22 matches in the 2009 AFL Season home and away rounds in which St Kilda qualified in first position for the 2009 AFL Finals Series, winning the club’s third minor premiership
.
Dal Santo was recognised for his excellent season with selection in the 2009 All-Australian Team
as an interchange player, his second career All-Australian Team award.
St Kilda qualified for the 2009 AFL Grand Final
after qualifying and preliminary finals wins. Dal Santo played in the grand final in which St Kilda were defeated by 12 points.
As of the end of the 2010 season, Dal Santo had played in 16 finals matches including three grand finals.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(AFL).
Early career
Dal Santo was drafted with selection #13 overall by St Kilda in the 2001 AFL Draft2001 AFL Draft
The 2001 AFL Draft consisted of a national draft, a rookie draft, a pre-season draft and a trade period. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League .In 2001 there were 83...
and made his debut for them in 2002 against the Geelong Football Club
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
. He managed 18 matches in his first year although he struggled at times in what was a poor season for the club. In just his second game, Dal Santo had the opportunity to win a game for St Kilda with the last kick of the match, with any score required, but his kick missed the distance.
Dal Santo could not break into an improving St Kilda side in early 2003, but when he did in Round 15 he did not look back, playing every match for the rest of the season and establishing himself as a skillful and creative midfielder.
2004–2007 seasons
Dal Santo played in St Kilda’s 2004 Wizard Home Loans Cup2004 Wizard Home Loans Cup
The 2004 Wizard Home Loans Cup was the Australian Football League competition played in its entirety before the Australian Football League's 2004 Premiership Season began...
winning side – St Kilda's second AFL Cup win.
Former Essendon Football Club
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
coach Kevin Sheedy, during the 2005 season, likened Dal Santo to triple-Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
list Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart (Australian rules footballer)
Ian Harlow Stewart , son of Aldo Liberale Cervi and Anita Cervi who separated three years after his birth, is a former Australian rules footballer with Hobart in the Tasmanian Football League , and in the Victorian Football League with St Kilda and Richmond...
for his exceptional skill and courage.
In that same year, former Hawthorn champion Gary Ayres said this of Dal Santo in an interview:
"He's got a high skill level on both sides of his body. He's a good reader of the play, he's got football smarts which are very hard to teach and the thing he does very well is he's got that ability to be composed when he uses the ball. He doesn't seem to get too flustered or rushes it, and that's a pretty special quality to be able to have when you play elite football because a lot of players can get the ball but do they make the right decision?"
Dal Santo came of age as a footballer during the 2004 season, playing every match and kicking 11 goals in a St Kilda side that made a Preliminary Final. In 2005 he took his game to a new level, racking up over 500 disposals for the year and finishing a close third in the 2005 Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
, behind eventual winner Ben Cousins
Ben Cousins
Benjamin Luke "Ben" Cousins is a former Australian rules footballer, best known for his 270-game career with and in the Australian Football League ....
.
Dal Santo was recognised for his excellent season with selection in the 2005 All-Australian Team
All-Australian Team
The All-Australian Team is an all star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including interchange players and a coach, of the best performed during the season....
as a midfield player, his first career All-Australian Team award.
Early in the 2006 season St Kilda lost star midfielder Lenny Hayes
Lenny Hayes
Lenny Hayes is a professional Australian rules footballer playing with St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League.Hayes is a former captain of St Kilda and continues to be an onfield leader in the Saints' midfield....
to a knee ligament problem and the captain, Luke Ball
Luke Ball
Luke Patrick Ball is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for in the Australian Football League....
, was also struggling with injury. In Hayes' absence Dal Santo began to cop a heavy tag from opposition teams each week and this lessened his impact on the game. He still performed strongly for the year, however, and continued to be one of St Kilda's best players.
In 2007, under new coach Ross Lyon, Dal Santo played some match-winning football, notching up 16 Brownlow votes for the year. He also played his 100th consecutive game in Round 20 of 2007, which meant that he had not missed a game since mid-2003. He finished the year with a fourth place finish in the club's Best and Fairest
Best and Fairest
Best and Fairest is the term commonly used in Australian sport to describe the player adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition while not receiving a suspension for misconduct or breaching the rules during that season.In the...
, the Trevor Barker Award
Trevor Barker Award
The Trevor Barker Award is an Australian rules football award for the player voted the St Kilda Football Club Club Champion during the home and away season in the Australian Football League by a voting panel....
.
2008 season
Dal Santo played in St Kilda’s 2008 NAB Cup2008 NAB Cup
The 2008 NAB Cup was the Australian Football League pre-season competition played in its entirety before the Australian Football League's 2008 Premiership season began...
winning side, the club's third pre-season cup win.
Dal Santo was dropped in Round 13 of the 2008 season due to lack of form. The temporary demotion spurred Dal Santo on to a good finish to the season – picking up 530 possessions (including 335 kicks), 12 goals and 75 tackles. Although his form was down on that of previous seasons, he picked up Brownlow Medal votes in two games and also played a major part in St Kilda's semifinal victory over Collingwood, with 32 possessions, five tackles and one goal.
2009 season
Dal Santo is a member of St Kilda's leadership group and is contracted to the club until the end of the 2010 season. He was awarded All-Australian selection for the second time in his career in 2009, a recognition of his strong season.Dal Santo played in 21 of 22 matches in the 2009 AFL Season home and away rounds in which St Kilda qualified in first position for the 2009 AFL Finals Series, winning the club’s third minor premiership
2009 AFL season
-Round 1 :-Round 2:-Round 3 :-Round 4:-Round 5 :-Round 6:-Round 7:-Round 8:-Round 9 :-Round 10:...
.
Dal Santo was recognised for his excellent season with selection in the 2009 All-Australian Team
2009 All-Australian team
The 2009 All-Australian team represents the best performed Australian Football League players during the 2009 AFL season. It was announced on 14 September 2009, as a complete Australian rules football team of 22 players and a coach. An initial squad of 40 players was previously announced on 1...
as an interchange player, his second career All-Australian Team award.
St Kilda qualified for the 2009 AFL Grand Final
2009 AFL Grand Final
The 2009 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the St Kilda Football Club and the Geelong Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 26 September 2009...
after qualifying and preliminary finals wins. Dal Santo played in the grand final in which St Kilda were defeated by 12 points.
2009 statistics
- Round 1: (vs Sydney): 27 disposals, 3 marks, 2 goals
- Round 2: (vs Adelaide): 35 disposals, 6 marks, 0 goals
- Round 3: (vs West Coast): 31 disposals, 7 marks, 1 goal
- Round 4: (vs Fremantle): 31 disposals, 7 marks, 2 goals
- Round 5: (vs Port Adelaide): 19 disposals, 3 marks, 0 goals
- Round 6: (vs Western Bulldogs): 22 disposals, 1 mark, 1 goal
- Round 7: (vs Collingwood): 38 disposals, 5 marks, 0 goals
- Round 8: (vs Essendon): 23 disposals, 2 marks, 0 goals
- Round 9: (vs Brisbane Lions): 19 disposals, 1 marks, 0 goals
- Round 10: (vs Melbourne): 31 disposals, 5 marks, 0 goals
- Round 11: (vs North Melbourne): 26 disposals, 3 marks, 1 goal
- Round 12: (vs Carlton): 34 disposals, 2 marks, 1 goal
- Round 13: (vs Richmond): 26 disposals, 3 marks, 1 goal
- Round 14: (vs Geelong): 26 disposals, 0 marks, 0 goals
- Round 15: (vs West Coast Eagles): 28 disposals, 4 marks, 3 goals
- Round 16: (vs Adelaide): 30 disposals, 4 marks, 0 goals
- Round 17: (vs Western Bulldogs): 39 disposals, 8 marks, 0 goals
- Round 18: (vs Sydney): 28 disposals, 1 mark, 1 goal
- Round 19: (vs Hawthorn): did not play
- Round 20: (vs Essendon): 1 goal
- Round 21: (vs North Melbourne): 9 disposals
- Round 22: (vs Melbourne):
2010 season
Dal Santo played 25 games in 2010, including four final matches, and averaged 25.6 possessions.As of the end of the 2010 season, Dal Santo had played in 16 finals matches including three grand finals.