In the end, the Pies ran out nine-point winners, 16.7 (103) to 14.10 (94), but not before enduring some nervous moments after Shane Birss kicked his second goal just into time-on in the final quarter.
Stephen Milne had the chance to bring his team to within one straight kick but his set shot faded to the right and with it, any chance the Saints had of stealing an unlikely victory.
Alan Didak's classy third goal opened the scoring in the final quarter and put Collingwood out to a lead that would prove too much for the Saints.
Robert Harvey's influential last term culminated in a rare set shot goal that kept St Kilda's faint hopes alive, but when Scott Burns gathered his second after the increasingly damaging Didak won the clearance from the ensuing ball-up, the contest was effectively over.
The Saints will rue missed opportunities, particularly a couple of gilt-edged chances that the otherwise impressive Lenny Hayes let slip through his fingers.
But it was Collingwood's greater desperation and fiercer attack on the football – as evidenced by their superior tackle count of 55 to 21 – that ultimately paved the way for victory.
Skipper Scott Burns (22 possessions) was resolute for the Pies. His work in tight was a feature and, in the end, his two goals were telling.
Dane Swan (28 disposals) and Leon Davis (27 disposals and one goal) also played important hands for Collingwood.
It was a brilliant snap by Davis that set the Pies on their way in the second half, and when Ben Johnson (15 disposals) followed up shortly after it seemed one team had decisively, finally, got on top of this game.
But there was a theme at work that would not be denied. The Saints lifted their intensity and quickened the movement of the ball, and were rewarded through goals to Koschitzke and Gram.
Two free kicks -- perhaps slightly fortunate ones -- allowed the Magpies to reassert their dominance on the scoreboard, but in truth their 11-point lead at three-quarter time was indicative of the state of the match.
The third term also saw the teams, particularly Collingwood, run into some confusion with the new regulations governing the interchange bench.
Luke Ball played his best game for the Saints in some time. Benefiting from the superior ruck work of Michael Gardiner (12 hitouts) and Steven King (23 hitouts), Ball amassed 30 possessions but could not cap his game with a final quarter snap that faded to register a behind.
Earlier, a goal after the half time siren to Dale Thomas had put Collingwood in front for the first time since early in the first quarter.
It was just reward for the Pies, who twice came back from 15-point deficits when they seemed in danger of being split apart by a more efficient and seemingly dangerous St Kilda outfit.
Collingwood now displace the Saints in fifth place on the ladder but face the daunting prospect of Geelong next week.
St Kilda must regroup and head to the Gabba where they will take on another team with aspirations of finals football in the shape of the Brisbane Lions.
Collingwood 6.3 9.5 12.6 16.7 (103)
St Kilda 5.1 10.3 14.5 14.10 (94)
GOALS
St Kilda: Dal Santo 2, Armitage 2, Milne 2, Birss 2, Montagna, Goddard, Gram, Gehrig, Koschitzke, Harvey.
Collingwood: Didak 3, Medhurst 2, Burns 2, Davis, Thomas, Pendlebury, Wellingham, Johnson, Bryan, O’Brien, Rocca, Lockyer,
BEST
St Kilda: Ball, Hayes, S. Fisher, Armitage, Dal Santo.
Collingwood: Didak, Davis, R.Shaw, Thomas, Burns
INJURIES
St Kilda: None
Collingwood: None
Reports: Nil
Umpires: B Rosebury S McInerney M Stevic.
Official crowd: 48,417 at Telstra Dome.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs of the AFL.
