2009 and contracted to the club until the end of the 2010 season. Dal Santo played in 21 of the Saints 22 matches in the 2009 AFL Home and Away rounds in which St Kilda dominated the competition, qualifying in first position for the 2009 AFL Finals Series, winning the 2009 Minor Premiership McClelland Trophy. St Kilda dominance over the other league teams for the year was consolidated by a 6 point win in Round 14 over Geelong at Marvel Stadium, in front of the largest crowd ever for an AFL game at the venue in history of 54,444. Both teams went into the match undefeated on the AFL standings at an unprecedented 13-0 each, and the Saints took a one game lead on the standings with then win, which then extended to two games the following week. He was rested with several others for the Round 19 away match versus Hawthorn at Launceston's York Park in Tasmania, the only match he missed for the season. Dal Santo was recognised for his excellent season with selection in the 2009 All-Australian Team as an interchange player, his second career All-Australian Team award. St Kilda qualified for the 2009 AFL Grand Final after excellent wins over Collingwood in the Qualifying Final by 28 points, and a phenomenal win in a Preliminary Final classic against the Western Bulldogs, which was indicative of St Kilda's persistence during the season. Dal Santo played in the grand final against season nemesis Geelong, in which St Kilda were initially listed as defeated by 12 points, which became the subject of an ongoing investigation. Dal Santo played 25 games in 2010, including four final matches, and averaged 25.6 possessions. 2011 through to 2013 In the 2011 season Dal Santo came second in the Brownlow Medal with a total of 28 votes, after averaging 26.5 disposals per round during the premiership season. He was included in the All Australian Team for the third time in his career. He also came a close second in St Kilda's best and fairest Trevor Barker award, which recognised his consistency and leadership in the absence of Lenny Hayes. St Kilda FC had a difficult start to the season, in 15th place after 8 rounds, but recovered to win 8 of its last 10 matches in the regular season and qualify for the Finals in 6th. The season ended prematurely in the Elimination Final.