A STUNNING four-goal third quarter from Marcus Bontempelli has led the Western Bulldogs to a comfortable 35-point win over St Kilda on Saturday night at Etihad Stadium.

The Bulldogs were goalless in the opening term and trailed by 28 points early in the second quarter, but piled on 14 goals to three after the first break to set up a 15.13 (103) to 9.14 (68) win.

While neither side will feature in September, it was a well-earned win for Bulldog supporters who have endured a tough season, singing their song for just the second time in the past 11 matches.

DOGS SAVAGE SAINTS Full match coverage and stats

Bontempelli, splitting his time between the centre square and the forward line, was one of the Bulldogs' best after half-time, finishing with 21 disposals and the four goals.

Others to star were the tireless Jack Macrae (36 disposals ) and Josh Dunkley (34), while Jason Johannisen's run-and-carry off halfback was extremely influential in the third term, amassing 42 touches and five inside-50s.

For the Saints, Seb Ross was dominant in the first half, floating across the ground at will and gathering 21 disposals to half-time. He finished with 40 touches and three goals, including nine marks.

It was a tough match to debut for St Kilda midfielder Nathan Freeman, who had finally overcome years of hamstring injuries to play his first game, 1718 days after being drafted in 2013.

Freeman, playing predominantly on the wing, had a respectable 19 touches.

WATCH Bont's big third term

Jake Carlisle was an immovable object across halfback early, with 12 disposals and seven marks in the first term alone.

The game wasn't without its injury concerns, with both teams losing a player to concussion in the opening quarter. Bulldog Roarke Smith's unlucky run continued after missing last week suffering the effects of a car crash, while Saint Josh Battle accidentally clashed heads with noted hardnut Dale Morris.

St Kilda ruckman Tom Hickey spent time off the ground with a hamstring complaint, and was clearly hampered, leading Carlisle and the unlikely Blake Acres to take the ruck contests.

Hickey returned halfway through the final term, standing in the goalsquare to help with rotations.

A WIN FOR SAINTS Nathan Freeman gets through debut

After the Bulldogs burst to a 45-point lead at three-quarter time, the game meandered to a close, with skill errors and missed shots on goal from both sides marring what had been an entertaining, if see-sawing, contest.

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge was pleased his players stayed composed and didn't panic about the fact they were behind on the scoreboard.

"I didn't think the players came off their intent, so it was just a matter of staying composed, sticking to pre-match plans [and] not throwing the baby out with the bathwater. So we had a good conversation at quarter-time around all of that," Beveridge said.

"To our players' credit, we've been under a little bit of duress around consistently playing the four quarters. I don't think it was the intent that cost us, it was just more the method and some of the Saints’ good play. I don't think we've had a third quarter like that for a long time, so that was nice."

A subdued Alan Richardson said his Saints were "poor".

"It was a very disappointing performance," Richardson said.

"It just lacked any sort of response when the Doggies took it to another level.

St Kilda had taken advantage of some early Bulldogs misses, kicking four goals to take a 21-point lead into quarter-time. But the Saints seemingly ran out of steam after half-time, adding just two more majors while the Bulldogs romped home.

MEDICAL ROOM
St Kilda: Josh Battle was ruled out with concussion early after an accidental head knock when Dale Morris bumped the Saint while he was kicking. Tom Hickey battled a lower-leg complaint throughout the match, spending time off the ground before planting himself in the goalsquare for most of the last quarter.
Western Bulldogs: Roarke Smith made a welcome return after being involved in a car crash last week, only to suffer concussion in a tackle in the first term.

NEXT UP
A quirk of the fixture means next Friday night will be the first time St Kilda will meet an Essendon desperate to keep its faint finals hopes alive at Etihad Stadium. The Bulldogs will be keen to salvage some pride against North Melbourne in the early game on Sunday afternoon at Etihad, having lost by just two points last time the two sides met.

More to come

ST KILDA                     4.2   7.4    7.9    9.14 (68)
WESTERN BULLDOGS  0.5   6.6  14.12  15.13 (103)

GOALS
St Kilda: Ross 3, Lonie 2, Newnes 2, Membrey, Geary
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli 4, Schache 3, Greene, Jong, Macrae, Hunter, Dickson, Lipinski, Wallis, Crozier 

BEST 
St Kilda: Ross, Gresham, Webster, Lonie, Billings
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli, Johannisen, Dunkley, Hunter, Morris, Daniel 

INJURIES 
St Kilda: Battle (concussion), Hickey (hamstring)
Western Bulldogs: Smith (concussion) 

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Haussen, Dalgleish, Fleer

Official crowd: 20,748 at Etihad Stadium