North coach Brad Scott said the Roos had made their interest in Dal Santo plain but no trade could happen until St Kilda and Dal Santo decided what they wanted to do.
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"Our discussions with Nick have been really positive and we'd really like to have Nick at our club, but it's very much up to St Kilda now to talk to Nick and for both parties to decide what they want to do," Scott said on Monday afternoon after emerging from trade talks at Etihad Stadium.
"We've held up our end of the bargain there and we'll just wait and see."
Scott said the Roos had yet to receive an indication from Dal Santo, 29, that he wanted to join them.
"I think Nick is very much in discussions with St Kilda as to what's best for that club. Nick quite rightly is a St Kilda player and he wants to do what's best by St Kilda," Scott said.
"I think once both parties have come to an agreement as to which is the best way to go for their club then they'll let us know.
"But we've registered our interest, we really like him, we think he'd fit into our playing group really well. But it's a matter for St Kilda and Nick to work that out."
Scott said no timeframe had been put on North's negotiations with St Kilda over Dal Santo, but believed the fact Gillette AFL Exchange Period now runs for three weeks meant the talks would likely be protracted.
"The reality is it will probably play out over the next couple of weeks," he said.
Scott said North had commenced talks with St Kilda on out-of-contract key defender Luke Delaney, who could possibly be involved in any trade for Dal Santo.
"Luke's nominated St Kilda as his club of choice. Now again, St Kilda have got to come forward and basically put a deal to us," Scott said.
"We're really keen to help Luke get to his club of choice. We really rate him as a person so we'd like to see him get another go somewhere else."
Scott ruled out making a play for delisted Geelong veteran Paul Chapman, saying that the 32-year-old didn't fit the needs of the Roos' emerging list.
However, Scott said the Roos had got a good deal with father-son recruit Luke McDonald, despite being forced to hand over the earliest pick to date for a father-son.
"We suspected West Coast or Brisbane would bid at the very least. The reality is we rate him better than pick eight," Scott said.
"We said at the start we'd finalise our draft order and place Luke in that. And we placed him well inside the top eight, so it's a really good deal for us."
Twitter: @AFL_Nick
