The Saints completely dominated the match after half-time kicking 11 goals while restricting Fremantle to just two goals for the half.
St Kilda’s resurgence was led by skipper Nick Riewoldt who finished with five goals as the Saints cruised to a 17.10 (112) to 9.15 (69) victory.
The Saints were under intense pressure to win after victories to Brisbane and Richmond had seen the race for eighth spot tighten significantly.
The victory moves the Saints back into the top eight with matches against Adelaide and Essendon to come.
The first half proved to be a struggle for St Kilda as Fremantle’s midfield set the agenda with Jeff Farmer, Rhys Palmer and Byron Schammer all benefiting from Aaron Sandilands dominance of the ruck contests.
Adam Schneider was proving dangerous with two opening quarter goals while Riewoldt opened his account on a rebound move from a turnover in the Fremantle forward line.
Sam Fisher was blanketing Matthew Pavlich, restricting the Fremantle skipper to just seven touches in the first half.
But Fremantle found an alternative path to goal through Adam Campbell who kicked back-to-back goals and the Saints trailed by four points at the first break.
Fremantle threatened to break clear in the second quarter with two goals from Pavlich but the Saints clawed their way back into the game.
Lenny Hayes and Leigh Montagna lifted in the midfield and the evergreen Robert Harvey stamped his mark on the game when he goaled and then handed another to Stephen Milne to get the Saints back within four points at the long break.
With their season on the line, the Saints came out firing after half-time. Hayes turned the game with nine third quarter possessions – five of them coming in the first five minutes as he continually drove the Saints forward.
Riewoldt was causing havoc at full-forward with three brilliant goals for the term, Schneider chipped in with his third and Milne, suffering the effects of a nasty facial knock, kicked one out of the air in a trademark opportunist’s goal.
By three quarter time, the Saints had kicked nine of the previous 10 goals and held a comfortable 28 point advantage.
Schneider wasted less than a minute of the final quarter to post his fourth goal for the game and the Saints were on a roll.
From there it was all downhill for Fremantle as the Saints ruthlessly pressed home their supremacy with Riewoldt’s fifth providing the icing on the cake.
Riewoldt was best-on-ground, closely followed by the hard-working Hayes (30 possessions), while Fisher nullified Pavlich while accumulating 25 possessions himself. Schneider (4 goals) and Milne (3 goals) provided great support for Riewoldt.
Fremantle’s Rhys Palmer enhanced his standing as the best first-year player in the competition with a 30 possession performance to be Fremantle’s best, while Sandilands dominated the ruck contests and Garrick Ibbotson and Ryan Crowley worked hard in defensive roles.
St Kilda’s only injury concern appeared to be Milne whose right cheek was significantly swollen after a clash of heads early in the game.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
MATCH DETAILS
St Kilda 3.5 6.6 13.9 17.10 (112)
Fremantle 4.3 7.4 8.11 9.15 (69)
GOALS
St Kilda: Riewoldt 5, Schneider 4, Milne 3, Eddy, Koschitzke, Harvey, Clarke, Gilbert
Fremantle: Campbell 3, Pavlich 3, McPharlin, Duffield, Mundy
BEST
St Kilda: Riewoldt, Fisher, Hayes, Montagna, Goddard, Schneider, King
Fremantle: Palmer, Grover, Michael Johnson, Ibbotson, Farmer, Crowley
INJURIES
St Kilda: Milne (cheekbone)
Fremantle: Browne (corked thigh)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Schmitt, Hendrie, McInerney
Official crowd: 34,014 at Subiaco Oval
