It has been an emotional time for North Melbourne's star midfielder Nick Dal Santo as he prepares for his new club's elimination-final clash with Essendon on Saturday night.
St Kilda's Lenny Hayes and Collingwood's Luke Ball, who were teammates of Dal Santo's in St Kilda's 2009 grand final loss to Geelong, retired last weekend.
Brendon Goddard, another teammate of Dal Santo's in that game, will be a key player for the Bombers at the MCG on Saturday night against Dal Santo's Kangaroos.
The 282-game veteran Dal Santo has played in 17 finals with the Saints and brings a wealth of experience to the Kangaroos, who haven't won a final since 2007.
Dal Santo knows all about heartbreak after playing in three grand finals in 2009-10 for two losses and a draw.
"I was a little bit emotional over the weekend," Dal Santo told reporters on Tuesday.
"Bally retiring on Friday night and then seeing Lenny Hayes finish up on Sunday and also Jimmy Gwilt and Clint Jones who also finished at the Saints.
"I've been aware of missed opportunities in the past and that's a good message for the guys that you don't get to play finals every year. You've got to make every post a winner.
"That's probably one thing that I will speak to the boys about.
"It makes me feel a little bit older when you see the guys you've played a lot of footy with finally finishing their careers.
"You realise that it doesn't last forever."
First-year Kangaroo Dal Santo says the build-up to a finals game is a bit different and that's something he can share with his teammates.
North's most recent finals appearance was an elimination-final loss to West Coast in 2012.
"It's sometimes tough to explain to guys what it's like to play finals," the 30-year-old said.
"All I've sort of passed on at this stage is just be ready to be flexible.
"You do a little bit of media, there's a few more people at training.
"You need to get your preparation right but then outside of that, it's time to relax."
Dal Santo and Goddard were housemates for three-and-a-half years during their time with the Saints.
"Come the weekend, the way BJ goes about his football, it will be very competitive," Dal Santo said.
"I don't think there will be any love lost over that two hours.
"I might message him later in the week just to stir him up a little bit."
NICK DAL SANTO'S KEY STATS
* Age: 30
* Debut: 2002
* Height/weight: 185cm/85kg
* Games in 2014: 22
* Possessions per game in 2014: 24.3
* Total games: 282
* St Kilda career: 260 games 2002-13
* Best and fairest: runner-up 2011
* All-Australian selection: 2005, 2009, 2011
* Brownlow Medal: runner-up 2011
* Finals played: 17 (equal-club record at St Kilda)
* Grand finals played: 3
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