The Saints held the Cats goalless in the second half on their way to a 10.10 (70) to 6.10 (46) victory.
St Kilda set up the win in the third term, winning the clearances 15-7 and firing the ball into their forward line with machine-gun repetition.
Young Saint Jack Steven was the star in just his third game, booting the first three goals of the third quarter but he was far from their only contributor.
Brendon Goddard stepped up a notch and Sam Fisher provided run out of the backline as the Saints slammed on five goals, keeping Geelong to its first scoreless quarter since round 12, 2005.
On a tough night for the big men, St Kilda's small forwards stepped up in the tough conditions. Adam Schneider booted the Saints’ first three goals of the game, which was followed by Steven’s three in 10 minutes.
All eyes were on the midfield match-ups with most of them breaking even. Joel Selwood was the exception, leading the way with 34 disposals and 12 clearances. His desperation in the wet set him apart from his teammates and his second quarter in particular was something extraordinary.
Nick Dal Santo got the better of Jimmy Bartel and Gary Ablett was too good for Clint Jones, while Cameron Ling and Lenny Hayes broke even in their engaging duel.
James Podsiadly had the first quiet game of his brief AFL career. He was well held by James Gwilt, who by contrast put in the best performance in his five years at the Saints. Gwilt finished with 27 touches and showed poise all through the night.
At the other end, Steven Baker played a close-checking role on Steve Johnson that got a bit heated at times.
Speaking after the game, Saints coach Ross Lyon said he was encouraged by the performances of some of the Saints’ lesser lights.
“It’s always nice for our members to see that it’s not all about Nick Riewoldt. It’s about our ability to bring some players on - (Rhys) Stanley and Jack Steven, (James) Gwilt, (Jarryn) Geary, (Sam) Gilbert and (Ben) McEvoy,” Lyon said.
“They’re a handy little group but I think everyone’s trying to bring some players on and all clubs are under pressure with what’s coming through the door (Gold Coast and Greater West Sydney)so you’ve got to be able to develop your own.”
As expected, it was a tight and low-scoring final term. The crowd of more than 58,000 waited for the Cats to burst back into action but the charge never came. It was the first time Geelong had failed to score a goal in the second half since 2001.
Cats coach Mark Thompson said he could accept the loss but the work was ahead of his side to make sure it didn’t become a pattern.
“If it happened next week and the week after it would be completely different. An aberration we can accept, as long as we don’t repeat those performances,” he said.
“We have a history of being able to handle these situations, losses, bad halves and working through it and coming out the other end.”
While Schneider and Steven starred, Stephen Milne struggled to make an impact after a distracting and draining week. But the most poetic moment of the night came with just nine seconds to go when the forward pocket finished off a tough night with a signature goal from the pocket after a free kick to cap off the win.
St Kilda 2.1 4.3 9.6 10.10 (70)
Geelong 2.2 6.7 6.7 6.10 (46)
GOALS
St Kilda: Schneider 4, Steven 3, Milne 2, Dal Santo
Geelong: Ablett 2, Mackie, Ling, Stokes, Johnson
BEST
St Kilda: Hayes, Dal Santo, Montagna, Steven, Gwilt, Fisher, Goddard
Geelong: Selwood, Ablett, Enright, Milburn, Mackie
INJURIES
St Kilda: nil
Geelong: Harry Taylor (ankle), Steve Johnson (hand), Jimmy Bartel (elbow)
Reports: nil
Umpires: Rosebury, Stevic, Ryan
Official crowd: 58,208 at the MCG
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
