St Kilda great Nick Dal Santo has hilariously recalled the moment he was sprung impersonating coach Ross Lyon.

Speaking on SEN, Dal Santo said Lyon used to shut out Saints players who weren’t in the team meeting on time, so teammates were often there early waiting around.

And to pass time, funny videos soon turned into impersonations.

Unfortunately for Dal Santo, the man he was impersonating happened to be right behind him.

“I used to impersonate Rossy,” Dal Santo revealed.

“He caught me out impersonating his walk one time.

“One of the rules with Rossy going back quite a while was if you’re late to the meeting, the door got shut. So it was all about punctuality. You were there on time, it was a sign of respect, it was a sign you’re invested and you valued your time at the club.

“So we’d always get there early… you were never late.

“Every now and then we’d use the computer system and you’d put on a funny video or you’d be waiting for 15 minutes and the impersonations started.

“One day I’m up the front just carrying on with the boys and I’m pretending to be Rossy at the front because of his mannerisms and some of his sayings were very easy to impersonate.

“Rossy’s walked in one time and I’m out the front impersonating him with a pen behind my ear, doing his sashay, as we used to call it.

“He goes, ‘No, no, carry on Dal. You’re fine. Keep doing that’.

“That’s when he learned that we were always impersonating him,” he said laughing.

Dal Santo also revealed former teammate Michael Rix used to write down “funny quotes” from Lyon’s meetings and save them for Mad Monday celebrations.

“He had a book full of Ross Lyon sayings and quotes and analogies,” Dal Santo recalled.

The three-time All Australian said he remained friends with Lyon after the coach departed in controversial circumstances to take on Fremantle’s head coaching job at the end of 2011.

Lyon was later sacked as Dockers coach before the end of the 2019 season.