THE FUTURE of St Kilda's Nick Dal Santo hung in the balance on Wednesday after talks between the Saints, North Melbourne and his management.
St Kilda is understood to be considering the prospect of Dal Santo joining North Melbourne under free agency but is concerned whether or not it will receive fair value in compensation.
Fair value for a player of Dal Santo's experience and class would be considered the second round pick immediately after the Saints pick No.21, which would give St Kilda pick No.22 for Dal Santo.
It would also mean North Melbourne would not have to consider trading pick No.26 – which it has appeared reluctant to do – for the midfielder who will be 30 at the start of the 2014 season.
The Kangaroos have already used pick No.8 to acquire father-son prospect Luke McDonald and would be loath to use another pick, particularly given the perceived lack of depth in the 2013 AFL Draft.
However it is understood the Saints would be unlikely to want to part with Dal Santo if they were to only receive a third round compensation pick which would give it pick No.38 in the AFL National Draft.
It is why discussions have dragged on and the Saints have been reluctant to declare their position with certainty.
They still see Dal Santo as a quality player and a St Kilda champion who is required if an appropriate deal that suits all parties can't be found.
A mutual agreement would need to be reached between player and club for him to transfer clubs as a free agent.
The Saints already have pick No.3 in the draft – its first top-five pick for a decade – and traded ruckman Ben McEvoy to Hawthorn in order to get another pick inside pick 20.
If the club then swapped Hawthorn's compensation pick for losing Franklin (pick 18) with pick No.21 and received pick No.22 for Dal Santo it would go to the draft with four picks inside pick No.22.
Essendon had been linked with Dal Santo but those negotiations look to have cooled.
