Here's how it has panned out so far:
2001 Draft: Dal Santo was selected with pick 13 by St Kilda from the Bendigo Pioneers. The selection was originally Sydney's, but was involved in the deal to send Barry Hall north.
Round 4, 2002: At just 18 years and 58 days, Dal Santo made his AFL debut against Geelong. While the Saints lost big, Dal Santo was one of the few goal-kickers on the day.
2002: Injuries to many of St Kilda's senior midfielders gave Dal Santo a chance to establish himself. Playing 18 games, he averaged 10.6 disposals as the Saints finished second last.
2003: A troublesome quad injury ruined any chance for the left-footer to build on his first season. Not making his first senior appearance until Round 15, Dal Santo nevertheless showed glimpses of his ball-winning ability which would become so prevalent over the next decade.
After only collecting more than 20 disposals once in 2002, Dal Santo did it four times in his eight games in 2003.
2004: Dal Santo's third year was when he announced himself on the AFL scene. Going off a base of 26 games in his first two years, he played all 25 games as St Kilda charged into a preliminary final.
A bigger frame, having added 12 kilos since being drafted, helped Dal Santo withstand the rigours of AFL football. His consistency also shone through. In only three of his 25 games did he have less than 15 possessions.
2005: Dal Santo took another step up in 2005. Even though he played one less game (24), he had 72 more possessions. His kicking efficiency of 81 per cent made him one of the most damaging in the competition and he was rewarded with his first All-Australian selection.
A third placing in the Brownlow Medal was further reward for a fine season.
2006: Increased attention was always going to come Dal Santo's way. In the absence of Lenny Hayes and with Luke Ball having ongoing injury struggles, he had the opposition's number one tagger almost every week.
Impressively his numbers stayed comparable to 2005, even with a slight decrease in minutes as increased interchange rotations became the norm.
2007: Showcasing his durability, Dal Santo played every game for the fourth straight year. At the end of the season, his consecutive games streak stood at 102. He had five best-on- ground performances during 2007 on his way to 16 Brownlow votes.
2008: In Ross Lyon's second season as Saints coach, Dal Santo hit a quiet patch. Dropped mid-year for the first time since his debut season, his 114-consecutive-game streak ended. It was just a one-week sabbatical though and Dal Santo returned to play North Melbourne at Carrara.
He was a big part in a furious last quarter comeback which handed the Kangaroos a 15-point loss.
2009: Dal Santo had arguably the best season of his career in 2009. Collecting a mammoth 670 possessions in 24 games, he was ranked equal-fifth in the competition. Again, consistency was his most impressive feature.
Despite playing in one of the best sides in the competition and being targeted most weeks, he had less than 19 disposals on just two occasions.
2010: Dal Santo's 2010 continued in much the same vein as the year before. With 14 of his 25 games resulting in more than 25 disposals, he was almost impossible to shut out of a game.
He also stepped up in the finals series and was one of the few Saints to impress in the Grand Final replay as Collingwood won the premiership.
2011: As St Kilda slipped slightly from its 2009-2010 level, Dal Santo maintained his own high standard. Playing every game, he often showed a tendency to perform better in Saints losses with three of his top five disposal games in defeats.
He continued to haunt North, with five of a possible six Brownlow votes in the sides' two meetings for the year.
2012: A new coach in Scott Watters changed the direction of the Saints, thrusting Dal Santo into a different role. As youngsters were given more chances, Dal Santo had even more attention from opponents.
He coped well, winning a career-high contested possession percentage (45.8) while finding more of the ball in the forward 50 than ever before.
2013: Dal Santo's time forward of centre flipped around in his final season at the Saints, with Watters opting to use him more off half-back. With more than 21 per cent of his disposals in the defensive 50, the highest mark since his debut season of 2002, Dal Santo still managed to have an impact on the counter-attack.
