in the Final Round by a club record 139 points. St Kilda played Minor Premiers Adelaide in the 1st Qualifying Final at Football Park in Adelaide, winning an absolute classic by an official final margin of 8 points. Dal Santo was outstanding in the match, completing 31 disposals in difficult slippery conditions. It gave the team a bye through week two of the finals series. The season prematurely ended in the Preliminary Final at the M.C.G., but continued off field through the disciplinary system until February 2022. Early in the 2006 season St Kilda lost star midfielder Lenny Hayes to a knee ligament problem and the captain, Luke Ball, was also struggling with injury. In Hayes absence Dal Santo began to cop a heavy tag from opposition teams each week and this lessened his impact on the game. He still performed strongly for the year, however, and continued to be one of St Kilda's best players. He played every game and averaged 22 disposals for the year. St Kilda won 8 of its last 10 games for the regular season, officially qualifying an underwhelming 6th, and prematurely dumped from the final series in the Elimination Final in Week 1. In 2007, under new coach Ross Lyon, Dal Santo played some match-winning football, notching up 16 Brownlow votes for the year. He also played his 100th consecutive game in Round 20 of 2007, which meant that he had not missed a game since mid-2003. He finished the year with a fourth-place finish in the club's best and fairest, the Trevor Barker Award, in a season where St Kilda FC did not get to participate in the finals series. 2008 NAB Cup & Finals Dal Santo played in St Kilda's 2008 NAB Cup winning side, the club's third pre-season cup win. Dal Santo was dropped in Round 13 of the 2008 season due to lack of form. The temporary demotion spurred Dal Santo on to a good finish to the season – picking up 530 possessions (including 335 kicks), 12 goals and 75 tackles. Although his form was down on that of previous seasons, he picked up Brownlow Medal votes in two games and also played a major part in St Kilda's semifinal victory over Collingwood, with 32 possessions, five tackles and one goal. 2009 & 2010 - Consecutive Grand Finals Dal Santo was a member of St Kilda's leadership group in