Prior to round 4 of the 2012 AFL season he was elevated to the senior list to replace Brent Prismall who was on the long-term injury list with an ACL injury.[2] He made his debut that weekend against Carlton, starting the game as the substitute player and replacing Michael Hurley in the third quarter.[3]
He was delisted by Essendon at the end of the 2014 season after only playing three games in 2013 and five in 2014.[4] He returned to South Fremantle the following year.
Dell'Olio, along with 33 other Essendon players, was found guilty of using a banned performance-enhancing substance, thymosin beta-4, as part of Essendon's sports supplements program during the 2012 season. He and his team-mates were initially found not guilty in March 2015 by the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal,[5] but a guilty verdict was returned in January 2016 after an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency. He was suspended for two years which, with backdating, ended in November 2016; as a result, he served approximately fourteen months of his suspension and missed the entire 2016 WAFL season.[6]