It was one of the key drivers in Nick Dal Santo’s decision making process and NMFC.com.au can now reveal details of the meeting the former Saint had with North’s leadership group.

The 29-year-old had already met with key coaching and football staff, but to get a better understanding of the Kangaroos, a catch-up with Andrew Swallow, Drew Petrie, Brent Harvey and Daniel Wells was arranged just days after the Brownlow Medal count.

“I actually saw Nick walk past our table at Crown and I just gave him a sneaky little ‘thumbs up’ because I wasn’t sure if I should actually get up and talk to him knowing he was due to meet with us a few days later,” Petrie explained.

“So I didn’t speak to him on Brownlow night at all because I knew that was the case and plenty of work still had to be done to get him.  I also didn’t want to put him in an awkward position.”

Wednesday finally came around and the North leaders gathered at Petrie’s house.

“Initially we were going to meet at Boomer’s place but it’s miles away and you have to catch Puffing Billy to get there, so we met at my place instead which is a bit closer to town,” Petrie joked.

At 10.30am Dal Santo arrived.

“It was new to all of us but it wasn’t awkward.  I was kind of nervous about how the meeting would go but he’s played footy for as long as I have, so once he walked in I realised it was all going to be fine.  You cross paths with players and you have a mutual respect for each other.”

Petrie says it was an open and honest meeting with no false hope given to the soon-to-be restricted free agent.

“It was a naturally evolving chat, nothing was scripted and we didn’t want to paint the wrong picture for him.  We didn’t speak about things that didn’t exist and were keen to give him a real understanding of what he’d be walking into if he chose North.

“We spoke about the club but it was a two-way conversation.  He wanted to know about our training, our game-plan and the things we have in place from a medical and general player support point of view.  We discussed the coaching structure and asked him where he saw himself fitting in to the side and where he sees himself playing his best footy.

“We touched on his longevity and how long he thinks he can play for.  He wanted to know a bit more about our list and also a bit about what Brad’s like as a coach, you know, whether he’s approachable and that sort of thing.”

With a clear understanding of North Melbourne, Dal Santo headed to Thailand and Bali for a holiday.  He mulled over the information he had and when the time came, he elected to join the Kangaroos.

“I’m rapt he chose us and hope our little meeting played a big part in his decision,” Petrie added.