The win was set up by a four-goal lead at half-time, but that was only really the start of things.

The Saints kicked five unanswered goals in the third quarter and then another three goals to open the fourth quarter, and held the Bulldogs goalless for almost an hour before Tory Dickson snuck forward and converted his set shot.

St Kilda kicked 12 goals to three after quarter-time. The Bulldogs inability to stop the rot might be most concerning for coach Brendan McCartney.

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The Bulldogs have lost by an average of 58 points over their past six games and their inability to stop the rot might be most concerning for McCartney.

"That's what's unacceptable," McCartney said post-game. "A bad five minutes is turning into a bad 45 minutes and we've got to get better than that."?

Watters urged his side's leadership group to stand up against the Bulldogs after last week's loss to the Sydney Swans, and said he was pleased they responded.??

"They owned training this week, they played a key part in developing our strategy for the week and most pleasingly, they executed really well," Watters said.
 
"I was proud of the way they went about it."
 
And the Bulldogs didn't escape the loss unscathed. Midfielder Daniel Cross, after being driven into the ground in a tackle by Beau Wilkes, left the field with an AC joint injury.

He returned early in the second quarter but didn't last longer than a minute, and broke down in tears on the interchange bench before being subbed out of the game before half-time.

Brendon Goddard was one of those leaders pivotal for the Saints. ??In his milestone 200th game, the Saints utility gathered 33 disposals (his equal best tally of the season), including a game-high 21 by half-time.

Goddard started in the midfield and was back at his damaging best after a season of fluctuating form.? More importantly, Goddard looked at ease. During the week the 27-year-old said he had placed too much pressure on himself to perform since his 2010 heroics.

Against the Bulldogs, he looked closer to that player again; creative with his hands, damaging by foot and comfortable wherever the game took him.?

Goddard's showing was indicative of the difference between the Saints and Bulldogs. Although the Saints could not break away from the Bulldogs in the first quarter, it was clear it was only a matter of time before they did.

A gulf in class existed, and the Saints just needed to expose it.??

That started to happen just before the main break, with Nick Dal Santo skidding through a long-range shot at goal and Adam Schneider kicking his second of the term from a straightforward set shot.

In comparison, the Bulldogs had three shots at goal sail out of bounds on the full for the quarter. In what has been a consistent theme this year, the Bulldogs' makeshift forward line failed to make the most of its chances.

Little changed in the second half, except a drop in the Bulldogs' resistance. St Kilda managed to find many easy and unmarked targets in attack, and the third and fourth terms were played almost exclusively in the Saints' forward 50. 

The Saints' win boosted their already impressive percentage to 121.8, the sixth highest percentage of the competition and an advantage over fellow top-eight hopefuls Essendon, Fremantle, North Melbourne and Carlton.

ST KILDA                         4.5   7.10   12.17    16.22 (118)
WESTERN BULLDOGS  3.3      4.4     4.5      6.6 (42)

?GOALS
St Kilda: Riewoldt 4, Hayes 3, Dal Santo 2, Koschitzke 2, Schneider 2, Montagna, Steven, Milne
Western Bulldogs: Giansiracusa 2, Dickson 2, Tutt, Gilbee
 
BEST
St Kilda: Montagna, Hayes, Armitage, Steven, Geary, Goddard, Jones, Riewoldt
Bulldogs: Griffen, Boyd, Murphy, Wallis, Picken

?INJURIES
St Kilda: Schneider (hamstring)?
Western Bulldogs: Cross (shoulder) ?

SUBSTITUTES
St Kilda: Dunell replaced Schneider during the third quarter?
Western Bulldogs: Veszpremi replaced Cross during the second quarter?

Reports: Nil?

Umpires: Stevic, Stewart, Bannister ?

?Official crowd: 23,498 at Etihad Stadium?

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