THE WESTERN Bulldogs have bowed out of the finals race after a 24-point loss to St Kilda in their preliminary final at the MCG on Saturday night.

The upstart Dogs led by a goal at half time but, led brilliantly by skipper Nick Riewoldt, the Saints put on seven goals to one in the third term to set up the 24-point win, 13.10 (88) to 8.16 (64).

Bulldog defender Tom Williams had done a decent job on Riewoldt in the first half but he was helpless to stop the big Saint, who kicked two goals and had a hand in three others in his side's match-defining burst.

While acknowledging his skipper’s role, St Kilda coach Ross Lyon was eager to spread his praise around.

“I think he played well but the midfield really got to work in there,” Lyon said of the third quarter.

“I thought the other forwards worked off him and provided pressure to allow Nick to stay in the contest whereas in the first half, there was that one back.

“As that scoreboard pressure built, I thought it cracked wide open.”

The skipper finished with 21 possessions and three goals, while St Kilda was also well-served by Leigh Montagna with 33 disposals, Lenny Hayes (26) and James Gwilt (24).

Barry Hall had minimal influence thanks in large part to an excellent performance by oft-maligned full-back Zac Dawson with the full-forward’s only goal coming in the dying minutes of the game.   

However, it wasn't all good news for the Saints as key midfielders Nick Dal Santo (hamstring) and Jason Gram (groin) ended the game under some duress. Both played out the match but they were clearly troubled at times by their respective complaints.

Bulldog pup Callan Ward was outstanding with 30 possessions with Matthew Boyd and Daniel Cross also prominent, but the Dogs simply didn’t have enough four-quarter contributors.  

Retiring skipper Brad Johnson was lively in the first quarter but like so many of his teammates, he faded to finished with 10 possessions, before leaving the field between a guard of honour formed by both teams.

The first goal didn’t come until nearly 17 minutes into the first term, but it was an absorbing arm wrestle as the two sides fought tooth and nail to impose their will on the contest.

Mitch Hahn was out of the side on Thursday, but was a late inclusion for small forward Andrew Hooper. He got the ball rolling for the Dogs with a goal from a set shot to break the deadlock after the Saints had the better of the early going.  

Stephen Milne soon restored St Kilda’s slender lead but the Dogs, who were clearly buoyed by their lively start against their fancied opponents, hit back through Jarrad Grant and Liam Picken, who had the job on Brendon Goddard.

The Bulldogs continued to press hard in the second quarter but the counter-attacking Saints made them pay for their inaccuracy in front of goal.

Dylan Addison was the Dogs' sole goalkicker for the term, while Adam Schneider and Ben McEvoy sliced the margin to one straight kick at the main break.  

Just when it looked like Rodney Eade had figured a way to extract an unlikely win with his injury-hit side, St Kilda shifted into another gear.

The third quarter was barely a minute old when Milne booted his second goal to kickstart the Saints' surge. When Brett Peake weaved his way through traffic to kick truly 10 minutes later, the shell-shocked Dogs were 21 points down and out on their feet.

Lindsay Gilbee fashioned a goal from nothing in reply but the Saints were undeterred, slamming home the next three majors to hold what proved an unassailable 31-point lead at the last change.

Eade was philosophical about the Dogs’ exit from the finals race at the last hurdle for the third year running.

“We’re back to where we were the last couple of years. We haven’t fallen away and we’ve had more hurdles to overcome this year,” Eade said.

“In the face of adversity, I think we’ve stood up. Teams that win flags ... the planets align. The ones that have won the past 10 years haven’t had injuries.

“We’ve got to keep knocking on the door until the planets align for us.”

St Kilda  1.5  3.6  10.10  13.10 (88)
Western Bulldogs  3.1  4.6  5.9  8.16 (64)

GOALS
St Kilda: Riewoldt 3, Schneider 3, Milne 2, Koschitzke 2, Gardiner, McEvoy, Peake
Western Bulldogs: Hahn 2, Addison, Giansiracusa, Gilbee, Grant, Hall, Picken

BEST
St Kilda: Riewoldt, Montagna, Dawson, Hayes, Gwilt, Fisher, Gram, Jones
Western Bulldogs: Ward, Cross, Lake, Picken, Boyd, Griffen

INJURIES
St Kilda: Dal Santo (hamstring), Gram (groin)
Western Bulldogs: Addison (ribs), Wood (ribs), Murphy (knee), Picken (concussion)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Vozzo, McBurney, Stevic

Official crowd: 62,694 at the MCG

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.