PROPELLED by an eight-goal performance by small forward Stephen Milne, St Kilda has continued its finals charge with a vicious 103-point mauling of a dismal Adelaide at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.

The 19.13 (127) to 3.6 (24) win in front of 26,546 fans was the Saints' seventh - and easily biggest - win in their past nine matches, and boosted them into the top eight for the first time this year by virtue of an eight point rise in percentage.

Adelaide's score was the lowest in its history, and made it eight losses from the past nine matches for Neil Craig's embattled team.

The Crows' previous record low score was 4.7 (31), also against the Saints, at Moorabbin in round seven of 1991.

Influential players
Milne set the tone early for the Saints, and his bag made it a dirty milestone night for direct opponent Graham Johncock, who suffered the indignity of being only the second Crow to play in a loss in his 200th match.

The goalsneak kicked the game's first two goals, added a third before quarter-time, then booted three of his team's four third-term goals.

By the time he slotted his eighth at the 20-minute mark of the final quarter to put St Kilda 108 points in front, ecstatic Saints fans were chanting Milne's name as they danced in the aisles.

Fellow small forward Adam Schneider and skipper Nick Riewoldt joined in the goal spree, booting five and three goals respectively.

Further afield, Brendon Goddard (30 disposals) and Nick Dal Santo (31 disposals) enjoyed a feast across half-back and through the middle of the ground, piling up a combined 48 of St Kilda's huge tally of 326 uncontested possessions.

Adelaide managed only 203 uncontested touches, highlighting the gulf in the two teams' ability to run, carry and spread.

David Armitage was another star for the Saints, finishing with 20 disposals and nine tackles.

He was in everything early, firing a magnificent pass to Milne for his second goal and laying a ferocious tackle a short time later that led to a turnover and easy Schneider goal.

From bad to worse
From the Crows, it was a game of two halves. First half: bad. Second half: worse.

In the opening two quarters, Craig's men were at least competitive when the ball was in dispute, winning the first half contested possession count 59-53.

Their problems were poor skills and an inability to spot a target through St Kilda's highly-organised 18-man defensive zone.

Saints Ben McEvoy, Justin Koschitzke, Sam Fisher and Raph Clarke all took marks from indiscriminate Crows bombs inside 50 in the first quarter alone.

By contrast, St Kilda capitalised on its opportunities, managing six scoring shots from only 10 first quarter forward 50 entries to open a 23-point break at the first change.

The lead was extended to 45 points by half time with five goals to one in a scrappy second quarter of football, putting the game beyond doubt.

At that stage, the Crows led the inside 50 count 22-19 but had managed only two goals.

Smelling a much-needed percentage booster, St Kilda ran out after half time determined to wreak havoc on the scoreboard.

In a devastating sign of the dominance that followed, Adelaide couldn't get the ball inside its forward 50 at all in the first 20 minutes of the term.

By the time they did, the Saints had already recorded 11 scoring shots, but were relatively wasteful with 4.7 as the visitors managed only one behind for the term.

St Kilda then banged in five unanswered goals to start the fourth quarter, extending the lead beyond 100 points before the final siren brought an end to the slaughter.

What it means
After their sluggish start to the season, the Saints have the look of a contender again.

They have an opportunity to further push inside the top eight against 16th-placed Gold Coast next round.

Toyota AFL Dream Team highlight
Dal Santo (140 points), Riewoldt (134) and Milne (123) were the game's leading point-scorers on a night when 13 Saints recorded over 90 points.

Next four
Gold Coast (MS), Fremantle (ES), Collingwood (ES), Sydney Swans (ANZ).

What the coach said
Ross Lyon
"There were some really good individual statistical numbers, but what caught my eye was the real team performance, the level of contribution and everyone playing their part. Otherwise you can't get that sort of result."

Quarter by quarter

First quarter
St Kilda made the most of Adelaide's errors and turnovers to punish the Crows in front of goal. Adelaide had 12 inside 50s compared to 10 and yet could only manage one goal compared to the Saints' five. St Kilda's cleaner skills and quicker ball movement set gave their small forwards plenty of opportunities. Stephen Milne kicked the opening two goals of the match before Adelaide's ruckman Sam Jacobs set up Patrick Dangerfield for the Crows' only goal of the term. Later in the quarter, Milne won a free kick against Graham Johncock and kicked his third and the Saints fifth.

Second quarter
The Saints extended their lead quickly when they kicked the opening two goals of the term through Nick Riewoldt and Nick Dal Santo. Again too many errors from the Crows allowed the Saints to dominate; the visitors again won the inside 50s 10-9 but could not capitalise. Adelaide's one goal from the quarter, to Scott Thompson, came after Justin Koschitzke gave away a 50-metre penalty in the centre of the ground. Schneider continued to provide an avenue to goal and Riewoldt kicked a second when he out-muscled Ben Rutten in the forward 50. The Saints had a comfortable 47-point lead at the main break.

Third quarter
St Kilda continued its dominance, and it was Milne doing the damage again. He kicked three of the Saints' four goals for the term, while Schneider kicked the other, his fourth of the night. The Crows managed just a rushed behind for the term and it came from their first entry into the forward 50, 20 minutes into the quarter. St Kilda totally dominated the quarter, recording 18 inside 50s to four and 113 disposals to 82.  

Fourth quarter
Milne's seventh goal came four minutes into the final quarter. It was vintage Milne, running around from the tight angle and kicking a banana. When Koschitzke honoured Riewoldt's lead and the skipper kicked his third goal of the night, the Saints had taken their lead out to 90 points, and had jumped the Sydney Swans into eighth place on the ladder. Schnieder's fifth goal pushed St Kilda's lead to more than 100 points. The Crows' only major for the second half came at the 23-minute mark of the quarter when Ricky Henderson nailed a long goal.

St Kilda     5.1    10.2    14.11    19.13 (127)
Adelaide   1.2     2.5      2.6       3.6 (24)

GOALS
St Kilda: Milne 8, Schneider 5, Riewoldt 3, Dal Santo, Koschitzke, Montagna
Adelaide: Dangerfield, Thompson, Henderson

BEST
St Kilda: Milne, Goddard, Dal Santo, Schneider, Armitage, Jones
Adelaide: Thompson, Doughty, Jacobs

INJURIES
St Kilda: Nil
Adelaide: Symes (cheekbone), Thompson (leg)

SUBSTITUTES
St Kilda: Sam Fisher replaced by Jarryn Geary in the third quarter.
Adelaide: Brad Symes replaced by Brodie Smith in the third quarter.

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Vozzo, Farmer, McInerney

Official crowd: 26,546 at Etihad Stadium

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the club.