The former St Kilda and North Melbourne star has agreed to play for the Burras in their Central Highlands Football League round eight clash against Beaufort on Saturday, June 3.

He will join cousin and new Hepburn recruit Luke Stanton in the side.

Dal Santo explained that while the AFL lifestyle had been great, he feels you can sometimes miss the authenticity of the game at the highest level.

“One thing you do see in country football is that these players, people, support staff and people that are just donating their time pretty much, just love the club and love the community that it brings. And that’s what I’m really looking forward to as well,” Dal Santo said.

“As much as I want to play a game, and it’s great that I can play with my cousin, I’m also looking forward to – win, lose or draw – after the game just sitting around and having a beer.”

Dal Santo, who has stayed in a family holiday house in Hepburn numerous times over the years, said he is unsure whether he will play more than one game for the Burras in 2017.

“I’m open to the idea, but I haven’t confirmed anything yet,” he said.

“I’m doing a bit of media with AFL at the moment in Melbourne and most of those days are Saturdays and Sundays, which obviously makes it really difficult to do anything else outside that.”

Dal Santo is expecting to attend at least one Hepburn training session before the round eight match.

“I would have loved to go up there a little bit more leading into this game, but I’ll definitely be there for some training... just to meet the boys, get a little bit of an introduction out of the way, learn about how they want to play the game, learn about their tactics and the opposition leading into that game,” he said.

Despite Stanton being unavailable for the Burras’ season opener, the team kicked off the new season with a comfortable victory over Newlyn on Saturday.