BENDIGO will finally have its first homegrown 300-game VFL/AFL player when Nick Dal Santo lines up for North Melbourne in Saturday night’s preliminary final against West Coast.
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For all the rich footballing history of Bendigo, the city doesn’t have a player who is in the 300-game club, with Richmond’s Wayne Campbell having previously come the closest with 297.
But 14 years after he was drafted out of the Bendigo Pioneers, 31-year-old Dal Santo notches game 300 against the Eagles.
Making the trip west for the milestone game will be Dal Santo’s parents, Peter and Eileen, and one of his sisters, Sarah.
“It’s going to be really exciting for Nick and we’re obviously, very proud,” Peter said on Friday.
Peter’s first footballing memories of Nick are him playing for the Mandurang Junior Football Club’s under-12 team as a 10-year-old in 1994 under coach Graeme Warfe.
“He was always gifted with his skills and his hand-eye co-ordination… be it football, basketball or golf,” Peter said.
“In his first years of footy he was little and got banged around a fair bit, but from then to now has been a long road and gone extremely quickly.
“There has been lots of high and three significant lows.”
Those lows being Dal Santo’s three grand finals with St Kilda in 2009-2010 that didn’t yield a flag.
The Saints were beaten by Geelong in 2009 by 12 points, and the following year drew with Collingwood, before losing the replay by 56 points.
The silky Dal Santo played 260 games with the Saints between 2002 and 2013.
The Saints took Dal Santo with pick 13 in the “super draft” of 2001, with the former Strathfieldsaye Primary School, Flora Hill Secondary College and Bendigo Senior Secondary College student debuting in a 122-point loss to Geelong at Simonds Stadium in round four, 2002.
Over his 12 seasons with the Saints Dal Santo earned All-Australian selection in 2005, 2009 and 2011, finished second in the 2011 Brownlow Medal and third in 2005, and represented Australia in the International Rules Series against Ireland in 2004.
He joined North Melbourne as a free agent at the end of the 2013 season, where he has played 39 games.
“We’re extremely proud… it’s all driven by himself and all the hard work he has put in,” Peter said.
“He’s naturally talented, but he has worked hard to get where he is.”
Dal Santo’s 300th will be played at Domain Stadium.