THE WESTERN Bulldogs looked reasonable at stages but eventually proved no match for undefeated St Kilda in a 45-point loss at Docklands on Saturday night.
The Saints assembled the 16.10 (106) to 9.7 (61) triumph in the first half, held on to the advantage in a stagnated third term, and then broke away with a six-goal-to-two final quarter.
Their final assault was kick-started by circumstances that would have infuriated Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade; his side penalised for an interchange infringement with the margin 18 points.
Scott Welsh was the offending player and, as St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt kicked the fourth of his five goals, the prospect of the Dogs retaining their third-term momentum was taken away.
The Bulldogs' top four position is under threat with Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions equalling them on 11 wins, while St Kilda moves two games ahead of second-placed Geelong.
The loss could come at an additional cost to the Dogs with Shaun Higgins (hamstring) injured, Robert Murphy (hamstring) missing most of the second half and Welsh playing out the game with ankle trouble.
The Dogs' hopes of ending the Saints' streak took an early hit when important defender Lindsay Gilbee (personal reasons) withdrew before the first bounce.
Matthew Boyd was clearly the Dogs' best player with 39 disposals, including 11 contested, while Ryan Hargrave had 31, Daniel Cross 26 and Will Minson had 26 hit-outs.
Like Riewoldt, Stephen Milne also kicked five goals for the Saints, Brendon Goddard's 15-possession first quarter became 37 and Nick Dal Santo (39), Jason Blake (31), Lenny Hayes (31) and Sam Gilbert (30) shared plenty of the ball.
James Gwilt was used forward in the absence of Justin Koschitzke and it was a move that paid off with his goal in the opening four minutes of the game.
The Bulldogs' pressure was challenging the Saints in patches, but Riewoldt soon wore that away with his strong leading taking Brian Lake out of his preferred home deep in defence.
The Dogs didn't get their first major until the 10-minute mark, and it took a chain of six handballs and the sure foot of Boyd for it to come.
As the quarter entered red time, the Saints began to apply their trademark pressure and forced the Dogs into making mistakes as the margin grew to 13 points.
With its defence already on show, St Kilda was able to ignite its running game. Milne kicked two goals on the run in four minutes before the Dogs mustered an arduous reply through Murphy.
Sean Dempster, another defender in a forward role, kicked the Saints' next and after Riewoldt found his second – from a holding-the-ball decision on Jarrod Harbrow – and Milne his third, the goals dried up for both sides.
However, a thumping 50m goal from Callan Ward rounded the term out and left the Dogs with a 31-point deficit to chase.
The Bulldogs looked a rejuvenated side in the second half and for a short time took the title of ruthless tacklers from the Saints.
Mitch Hahn trapped Jason Blake for the Dogs' first of the term and 11 minutes had passed when Robert Eddy benefitted from Dal Santo's stoppage work.
As the Saints focused on suffocating the Dogs rather than scoring themselves, they found no response when Ryan Griffen and Nathan Eagleton snared the final two goals.
The Dogs' chances of a comeback in the last quickly wore away following the interchange penalty.
With two fit players on the bench and Ward's second goal a rare highlight, they faded at a rate as Milne, Riewoldt and Adam Schneider took control of their attack.
The Bulldogs will have the opportunity to rediscover their otherwise impressive season when they host Fremantle at Docklands next Saturday.
St Kilda 4.3 9.5 10.7 16.10 (106)
Western Bulldogs 2.2 4.4 7.7 9.7 (61)
GOALS
St Kilda: Milne 5, Riewoldt 5, Gwilt 2, Eddy, Gram, Dempster, Schneider
Western Bulldogs: Ward 2, Hahn 2, Boyd, Addison, Murphy, Griffen, Eagleton
BEST
St Kilda: Goddard, Riewoldt, Milne, Blake, Hayes, Gwilt, Dal Santo, Schneider, Hudghton
Western Bulldogs: Boyd, Hargrave, Cross, Ward, Minson, Eagleton
INJURIES
St Kilda: Nil
Western Bulldogs: Higgins (hamstring), Murphy (hamstring), Gilbee (personal reasons) replaced in selected side by Addison
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Rosebury, Grun, Meredith
Official crowd: 45,082 at Docklands
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
