Nick Dal Santo at Arden St today after being traded from St Kilda. Pictrure: Michael Klein Source: HeraldSun
NICK Dal Santo summed up perfectly the free agency dilemma facing clubs down the bottom of the ladder on his first day as a Kangaroo.
"We’d had it very good for 10 years (at St Kilda) and I think you just come to take it for granted that you’re going to play finals.
"That you’re going to win 14 games each year and then when you don’t do it, it’s a bit of a rude wake-up call.
"When you start to lose you realise how good those times were and how special winning just one game of footy is.
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"It was difficult (playing at St Kilda this year). It’s not nice losing games and we lost multiple games months on end.
"It’s hard particularly when you know what the other side looks like.
"That’s one thing I am excited about coming here, it’s a young group that can win some games.”
As much as he loved St Kilda and what the club did for him since he walked in the door as a 17-year-old, the new football landscape now means it’s not enough.
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At 29 he was given the chance to win again and that’s why he will see out his career at North Melbourne.
"Being so close at St Kilda multiple times, you love that feeling and it becomes a little bit addictive,” Dal Santo said.
"Then sitting around watching the finals this year, obviously I missed out on that feeling once again and I would love to have it back.
"Coming here is definitely a part of that. The list is young and exciting and St Kilda has played North Melbourne once a year for the last two years and they won comfortably so I respect how they go about their football.”
Dal Santo spoke to his good friend Brendon Goddard, who was the major free agency mover last year, and Luke Ball about the pros and cons of leaving the Saints.
"I had never thought about leaving St Kilda before so it was hard to even contemplate what it looked like, life after St Kilda,” he said.
"It was good to touch base with those guys but in saying that it didn’t make it any easier, it didn’t make me feel more comfortable about the decision.”
Dal Santo, who played 260 games since his debut in 2002, admitted he’d had sleepless nights during an overseas holiday with his wife as he weighed up his future — Essendon had also shown interest — over the past couple of weeks.
"I’m normally a pretty laid-back sort of guy but I wasn’t sleeping very well for quite a while.”
He’d been impressed with North’s approach, particularly after meeting with members of the leadership group.
"I think it is good to hear from the players where they feel the club is at,” Dal Santo said.
"It’s one thing to put something out in the media from the president or a CEO but to actually hear it from the players was really important and they were really enthusiastic.
"I’m looking forward to a change. It’s something I felt I needed — a new challenge, a new group of guys to get to know and play some football with.”
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