The Western Bulldogs have kept their finals hopes alive with a much-needed win over St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.

Despite a late Saints surge – which saw the margin diminish from 52 points to just 22 – the Dogs were able to hold steady, partly thanks to some Marcus Bontempelli brilliance.

The 13.6 (84) to 7.14 (56) victory moves the Dogs into ninth spot on the ladder, while also retaining the Barker-Whitten Challenge Plate.

Having learnt from the past fortnight, the Bulldogs looked switched on from the start, moving the ball through the corridor with confidence.

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan broke through for the Dogs’ first after a somewhat scrappy opening eight minutes, which kickstarted a run of seven unanswered red, white and blue goals.

Forced to share the forward load after Aaron Naughton (AFL Health and Safety Protocols) was withdrawn was no issue for the Dogs, with Josh Dunkley, Adam Treloar and Mitch Hannan three of 10 goalkickers for the night.

Holding a comfortable 36-point buffer at half-time, the Bulldogs continued to assert dominance in the third.

A couple of misjudged kicks gave the Saints a look at the start of the final stanza, but a captain’s goal in the dying minutes ultimately put a stop on any St Kilda comeback.

Bontempelli was at his best, registering 34 disposals, 11 marks, five clearances and two goals, while Tom Liberatore (31 disposals, five inside 50s, 11 clearances) was also impactful.

Buku Khamis was a shining light in defence, while Jamarra Ugle-Hagan finished with three majors.

Bailey Dale (30 touches, five rebound 50s, 705 metres gained) and Adam Treloar (25 touches, eight marks, one goal) were solid across half-back, while Mitch Hannan impressed in defensive 50.

The Bulldogs will next host Melbourne on Saturday 23 July.

WESTERN BULLDOGS         5.2       8.4       12.5       13.6 (84)
ST KILDA                              0.2      2.4        3.9.        7.14 (56)

GOALS  
Western Bulldogs: Ugle-Hagan 3, Bontempelli 2, Dale, Dunkley, Garcia, Hannan, Johannisen, Treloar, Weightman, West
St Kilda: King 2, Steele, Wood, Jones, Sinclair, Billings

BEST   
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli, Liberatore, Dale, Gardner, Macrae, Smith, Khamis
St Kilda: Sinclair, Wilkie, Billings, Steele

INJURIES  
Western Bulldogs: Alex Keath (corked quad)
St Kilda: Ryder (calf strain)

SUBSTITUTES  
Western Bulldogs: Luke Cleary (unused)
St Kilda: Ben Long (replaced Paddy Ryder in the third quarter)

Crowd: 25,981