A CAREER-BEST five goals from Adam Schneider has helped St Kilda brush aside a lacklustre Melbourne to record an emphatic 79-point victory at Telstra Dome.

The Saints were superior across every line on the ground and increased their lead at every break on their way to the final 19.15 (129) to 7.8 (50) scoreline.

St Kilda’s onballers dominated the stoppages with Luke Ball (29 possessions), Nick Dal Santo (28) and Leigh Montagna (20) getting first hands on the ball and pumping the ball forward where Schneider and Stephen Milne (three goals) lurked with intent.

Nick Riewoldt finished with just one goal on the day, but he provided a strong target inside attacking 50 where he pulled down 13 marks to set up his teammates in better scoring positions.

The half-back line generated attack after attack with Brendan Goodard (28 touches), Jason Gram (27) and Sam Fisher (27) having a day out.

It was a dirty day for Melbourne in most aspects of the game and it was compounded by a serious Achilles tendon injury to Russell Robertson.

Coach Ross Lyon demanded a harder effort after last week’s loss to Brisbane and he would have liked what he saw in the opening term.

The Saints’ runners were up and about early with Gram, Dal Santo and Ball giving their side plenty of drive while giving their opponents no time or space to counter.

Riewoldt was matched up by Colin Garland early and the big Saint quickly let the young Demon know he was in for a tough day at the office. He didn’t score a goal in the first quarter, but he was directly involved in three of his side’s five majors for the term.

Dal Santo, Gram and Schneider all converted after being set up by the skipper as St Kilda established a 20-point lead at the first break.

Melbourne lacked system going into attack with Lynden Dunn scrambling through his side’s first of the day and Adem Yze converting from a free kick as the Dees struggled to keep pace.

The second quarter got off to a bad start for Jason Blake who hobbled off the ground after a knock to the right calf, but his teammates continued to press home a clear advantage around the stoppages that saw them hold a 26-12 lead in the clearance count at half-time.

It was the St Kilda small brigade that did the damage up forward with Clinton Jones, Milne and Schneider all roving contests provided by Riewoldt and Justin Koschitzke to get on the scoresheet as the Saints marched on.

The Demons rarely managed to break into their forward 50 and when they did Fisher, Max Hudghton and company cleared the danger area more often than not.

Twenty seven minutes had elapsed before Robertson booted Melbourne’s first and only goal of the second term with his side going into the main break 44 points in arrears.

An already bad situation got worse for the Dees in the third quarter with the Saints finding plenty of space in which to operate. Melbourne was restricted to a mere two points, but was saved by St Kilda’s inaccuracy in front of goal.

Schneider added his third and Shane Birss his first, but that was it for majors as six shots were sent wide of the mark. Matthew Ferguson climbed high to bring down a big mark that brightened an otherwise unremarkable quarter.

With the damage well and truly done, the Dees managed four goals in the last term, but were still well headed by seven goals to a St Kilda side intent on celebrating a comprehensive victory.

MATCH DETAILS

ST KILDA: 5.4, 10.6, 12.12, 19.15 (129)
MELBOURNE : 2.2, 3.4, 3.6, 7.8 (50)

GOALS:
St Kilda: Schneider 5, Milne 3, Birss 2, Koschitzke 2, Riewoldt, Dal Santo, Gram, Ball, Jones, Montagna, Dempster
Melbourne: Yze 3, Dunn, Robertson, Sylvia, Bruce

BEST:
St Kilda: Ball, Fisher, Gram, Dal Santo, Goddard, Montagna, Riewoldt
Melbourne: McDonald, McLean, Bruce, Warnock, Garland

INJURIES:
St Kilda: Nil
Melbourne: Robertson (achilles), Bate (hand)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Stevic, Stewart, Head

Official crowd: 27,854 at Telstra Dome