Dal do we under rate him?

[Con Gorozidis]

People will say stats dont meant anything and DT is crap etc etc etc

But nonetheless - the question needs to be ask. The guy is incredibly resilient and way tougher than given credit for.

Dal Santo had a slightly down season by his standards in 2012 but he still averaged more than 100 points a game for the ninth straight season. You can't go wrong picking Dal - since 2003 he is the number one scoring FoxFooty SuperCoach player in the comp, ahead of Gary Ablett and Chris Judd. And he has missed just three matches in the past four seasons.

Read more: http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-pre ... z2NObDfVpT

[stinger]

People will say stats dont meant anything and DT is crap etc etc etc

But nonetheless - the question needs to be ask. The guy is incredibly resilient and way tougher than given credit for.

Dal Santo had a slightly down season by his standards in 2012 but he still averaged more than 100 points a game for the ninth straight season. You can't go wrong picking Dal - since 2003 he is the number one scoring FoxFooty SuperCoach player in the comp, ahead of Gary Ablett and Chris Judd. And he has missed just three matches in the past four seasons.

Read more: http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-pre ... z2NObDfVpT

well, he is by peckerheads such as mike sheahan.....didn't make his top 50.....

[spert]

Just wish he could have brought his stuff to the table in the GFs we played in, that's where you show your worth.

[mr six o'clock]

On the weekend Dal kicked a beautiful goal from outside 50 . ( wind assisted )

many times during the pre game warm-ups i've watched him do the same thing , yet once the game starts he always does the team thing . Yes , you want that from a player however Dal has always had the class that many others lack .

I have always thought he should have more running shots at goal . He has played about the same amount as gary ablett jr , yet ablett has kicked more than twice as many goals as Dal .
Now Dal is not as good as ablett , but he's not that far off him !
Is certainly as good a kick at goal as giblett .

[St Loxton]

I think many do underate him, probably our supporters the most.
Most people i know who support other teams respect him as one of the most damaging players we have.
Has the coolest head under pressure of our team, precise in his decision making and awareness.
That instinctul ability to find space within a crowd ( aka Banger )
The umps notice him ( polls well )
He is a rare talent.

[SainterK]

Think he'll improve this year under a continued 'take the game on' mantra...

[gringo]

He has some incredible skills but sometimes just doesn't look like he is desperate enough. His coasting style makes him look like he's cruising along doing just enough. Probably not fair because his output is always pretty consistent.

[BigMart]

Elite player.... Tagged regularly because of this....

Highest naturally skilled player at StK dating back to Plugger... Possibly Aussie Jones at his best, oh and of course Nicky.

[busso mick]

When Lenny went down in 2011 Dal took it on himself to lift the Saints and shouldered the responsibility for our midfield and subsequently got 3rd in the Brownlow. The fact that I got him and Swan in the Brownlow quinella at 80/1 (after Mitchell was ineligible) means I will never ever under rate him.

[CURLY]

Just wish he could have brought his stuff to the table in the GFs we played in, that's where you show your worth.

Tagged by Ling in 09 in the wet. 2010 went into the GF injured had 29 touches in the replay the same as Nirm Smith medalist Pendlebry.

[saintspremiers]

He has some incredible skills but sometimes just doesn't look like he is desperate enough. His coasting style makes him look like he's cruising along doing just enough. Probably not fair because his output is always pretty consistent.

That's what appears like but watch closer - he's a magician who slows down time and creates space. That game style of his makes him look unmotivated/lazy, but is really a baulking method to avoid getting tackled.

[BigMart]

Great tackler .... Lenny aside, technically the most effective on the list....

[PJ]

Interestingly he seems to be getting bigger through the upper torso and arms. His strength should help him out muscle taggers (used to be a little light weight)

[shmic_s]

Definitely underrated. Needs to hit the score board more though.
Agree that another year under watters game plan might suit him and make him just as valuable going forward as he gets older and smarter.

[mad saint guy]

Absolutely. He is a legitimately elite inside midfielder with the skills of a great outside finisher. His clearance work and tackling are excellent, he just looks relaxed all the time on the field so people don't perceive him to be as tough or intense as someone who looks angry while flailing their arms around everywhere at every contest.

Early in his career he definitely had a work rate issue, which culminated in him being famously dropped. But since then he's given 100% and been a very, very good player for us. Sometimes he does get tagged out of the game, but there aren't many mids in the competition who don't. We'd be a far stronger team with a few more inside mids with Dal's skills.

[shmic_s]

Agree MSG, ever since he got dropped he has performed consistently at a high level.

[hAyES]

He is an absolute gun, but after all these years he still hasn't learnt how to break a tag. If he could do that we'd have probably the best midfielder in the comp, but because he can't we have a guy that in all honesty hasn't played well enough when it really mattered because of those tags.

Still a star no doubt, but could've been even better IMO.

[vacuous space]

He is an absolute gun, but after all these years he still hasn't learnt how to break a tag.

Who breaks more tags than Dal? If anybody, it would only be the elite of the elite. People stopped tagging Ablett last year. Murphy draws more tags than Judd. Most coaches are split on Swan or Pendlebury.

Over the last ten years there would be very few who have been as consistently tagged as Dal. Judd would have been tagged most weeks until the last few years. Ablett only started getting tagged in the last five years. Anyone else? Most of the top inside guys draw head to head matchups.

I think Dal is underrated across the league, but most shamefully by a number of St Kilda supporters. He's consistently mislabeled as an outside player by people who supposedly watch him. There seems to be an implication that he doesn't beat tags because he doesn't want to enough.

Dal has been a spectacular player for this club. There should be no 'but' about it.

[matrix]

damn straight

GUN
would love to see this bloke play 300
will be 30 in feb next year after say another 22 games this year (at a rough guess)
which will see him at 260 games at the start of 2014
another two years of 20 games , makes the 40 he needs at the end of 2016
and he joins the club at 32

might be asking a bit
but
the last time he played under 22 games...was 2003
anyone else reckon he could do it???

[saintspremiers]

Dal will play 300 games for St. Kilda.

I'll put my caravan on it. And pluggers house.

[Cairnsman]

He's just another Saints player that should be a premiership player. Love him when he's on.

[plugger66]

Dal will play 300 games for St. Kilda.

I'll put my caravan on it. And pluggers house.

Poor Dal. Its look like an early retirement.

[Teflon]

Super star and when he has the ball I don't panic.... when Clint has it I hit the bar

[cwrcyn]

Gets the hardest tag each wee, like Harvey used to. Still averages around 25 possessions a game and never wastes any of them.

He's a star, and always has been.



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