FIVE goals from spearhead Jeremy Cameron has propelled Greater Western Sydney back into the top eight and back on track for a maiden finals berth with a 35-point win over St Kilda at Spotless Stadium.
The Giants survived a second-half onslaught from the Saints to come away with a 12.12 (84) to 6.13 (49) triumph in front of 9178 fans on Sunday afternoon to end a three-game losing run and lift their win-loss record to 8-6.
There was a sour note to the victory however, when Dylan Shiel suffered a knee injury early in the second term, with the midfielder sent for scans before the final siren sounded.
St Kilda skipper Nick Riewoldt ended the match sitting on the pine with his calf being iced.
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The Giants began the contest the better of the two sides, booting the game's first six goals on their way to a 40-point advantage midway through the second term.
With Cameron having the better of his battle with defender Sam Gilbert and Callan Ward, Tom Scully and Adam Treloar gathering plenty of the footy further up the ground against a flat St Kilda, the four premiership points looked all but sewn up.
However, the visitors narrowed the margin to 34 points at the main break with a late goal and stormed back into the contest at the start of the third term.
The Saints, coming off a 110-point win over Essendon, lifted their intensity to put their opponents under some pressure for the first time in the match and, importantly, got some reward on the scoreboard.
In a four-minute burst, Josh Bruce marked and goaled from about 40m, Maverick Weller outsmarted Jack Steele to snap truly from the goal-square and Riewoldt kicked truly from a set shot.
Those were the only goals of the third term, helping reduce the margin to 14 points with a quarter to play.
Leigh Montagna was red hot in the third quarter with 14 possessions, while Jack Steven, Shane Savage and Dylan Roberton (each with nine touches) also lifted.
To the Giants' credit, they managed to absorb the pressure and find a way to respond and were gifted a goal four minutes into the final term when Jimmy Webster's poor kick-in was intercepted by Toby Greene, who made no mistake with a snap from about 25m.
That's four on the board for Cameron! #AFLGiantsSaints http://t.co/DFDjXwwdVc
— AFL (@AFL) July 12, 2015
That extended the margin to four goals and ensured there would be no way back for the visitors.
"The competition is so even you're not going to dominate for four quarters - it just doesn't happen - so we knew St Kilda would have their turn and they did, and we responded," GWS coach Leon Cameron said after the match.
"The young lads actually regrouped at three-quarter time and said 'We can't just keep trying to save this game, we have to try and win it' and I thought that was what we did in the last quarter."
While St Kilda coach Alan Richardson was pleased with the way his players responded after half-time, he said the Giants were the better team on the day.
"With the exception of the third quarter they were just better than us both on the inside and on the outside," he told reporters after the match.
Shiel clutched at his right leg after running into an open goal early in the second term and was taken straight into the GWS dressing rooms. Although the 22-year-old tried to return, he looked restricted and was substituted before half time.
Cameron's five goals leaves him on 42 for the season and in second place in the race for the Coleman Medal behind West Coast's Josh Kennedy.
Giant Stephen Coniglio, playing his first game since round 11 after hurting his shoulder, finished with 26 touches and 17 tackles, while Adam Tomlinson had 13 possessions after being out since round two with a toe injury.
GWS heads to the Gold Coast next weekend to face the Suns on Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Saints drop to 5-9 and face Richmond in seven days' time.
Rory Lobb and Sean Dempster compete for the ball. Picture: AFL Media
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 4.3 8.5 8.8 12.12 (84)
ST KILDA 0.5 2.7 5.10 6.13 (49)
GOALS
GWS: Cameron 5, McCarthy 2,Shiel, Steele, Lobb, Greene, Williams
St Kilda: Bruce 2, Sinclair, Steven, Weller, Riewoldt
BEST
GWS: Ward, Coniglio, Buntine, Cameron, Greene, Williams
St Kilda: Steven, Montagna, Savage, Geary, Weller, Armitage
INJURIES
GWS: Shiel (knee)
St Kilda: Riewoldt (calf)
SUBSTITUTES
GWS: Curtly Hampton replaced Dylan Shiel in the second quarter
St Kilda: Farren Ray replaced Sebastian Ross in the third quarter
Reports: Billy Longer (St Kilda) reported for rough conduct against Lachie Whitfield (Greater Western Sydney) in the first quarter
Umpires: Fisher, Stephens, Jeffery
Official crowd: 9178 at Spotless Stadium