ST KILDA was in danger of letting Saturday's game against Fremantle slip before Jack Steven and David Armitage intervened.
Steven racked up 32 disposals, six clearances and five inside 50s, as well as laying nine tackles as he notched the third-highest score (24.2) of the round in the Schick AFL Player Ratings.
Armitage rolled up his sleeves when it mattered most and laid an incredible 17 tackles, also gathering 28 touches and seven clearances.
The consistent midfielder scored 19.5 Player Ratings points against Fremantle, as he helped the Saints boot eight unanswered goals in the final term to bank their 34-point win.
Schick AFL Player Ratings: Who are your club's leaders?
While champion forward Nick Riewoldt had a definitive say in the final result, Steven and Armitage were equally influential.
The continual rise of midfield duo represent the new resilient and brash St Kilda.
Armitage delivered in a match-winning last quarter with 13 disposals and four clearances while also curbing gun Freo midfielder Lachie Neale's influence. Riding shotgun was Steven, who had eight touches and three clearances in the final term.
"Armitage's last quarter on a guy who had been killing us (Neale) was just outstanding," Saints coach Alan Richardson said after the game.
"That was really pleasing that one of our leaders stood up."
Garrick Ibbotson might want his time again as David Armitage makes it count. #AFLSaintsFreo https://t.co/xl1XhYoM93
— AFL (@AFL) May 28, 2016
Armitage is ranked 22nd in the AFL in Player Ratings, with Steven not far behind in 29th place.
Steven has appeared eight times in the AFL Player Ratings' team of the week, while Armitage has featured in seven.
This is the first time both have been part of the Player Ratings' Team of the Week at the same time.
Steven is averaging 17.2 points per game, ranked 11th in the AFL in 2016.
Even though he is averaging a career-high 28.9 disposals per game this year, Steven is ranked third in the AFL for pressure acts (24.3) which highlights his all-round game.
Armitage has been slightly down on his output from the start of last season, when he was third in the competition (behind Nat Fyfe and Robbie Gray) through the first nine rounds.
The game against the Dockers could be the fire-starter Armitage needs to re-produce the form that saw him rivaling Fyfe and Gray at the start of 2015.