On a wet night where finesse went out the window, the result came down to a touch of Lenny Hayes brilliance, as the Saints triumphed 12.12 (84) to 10.6 (66).
The contest was alive with eight minutes remaining with the Saints leading by five points until Hayes stepped forward. He grabbed the ball, eluded two opponents and kicked a goal to put the game out of a passionate Melbourne's grasp.
The game had come down to a last quarter scramble where every possession was under pressure and tackling was fierce. But the Saints always just kept their nose in front.
Melbourne will take plenty from its best performance for the season while St Kilda would be happy to leave a sodden MCG with the four points.
"It probably really highlights to me again the importance of where the competition's at now, if you get behind in contested possession and you drop your guard two, three, four per cent, you're going to be punished," said Saints coach Scott Watters.
It was obvious to Watters early that the contest was going to be tight and winning was not going to be as easy as outsiders had expected.
"I thought early in the game, the effort that Melbourne brought to the contest, particularly when it got greasy, some of their strong-bodied, inside mids were really desperate," said Watters. "They threw down a real serious challenge to us as a group."
The battle at stoppages was fierce. Melbourne's Mark Jamar was very good in the ruck, dominating the hit-outs and giving Mebourne an edge at the clearances.
The Demons had locked down the Saints' superstars, tackling fiercely and giving them no space. Jordie McKenzie frustrated Brendon Goddard (who had just six touches to half-time) while Nathan Jones and Brent Moloney were working well against Lenny Hayes and Leigh Montagna.
They were also matching the Saints in the possession count, a problem for the Demons in the first four rounds. In fact in many indicators Melbourne was ahead, yet it still trailed on the most important: the scoreboard.
"I think that we are getting to a stage in the last two games where the effort of the players has been terrific," said Melbourne coach Mark Neeld. "I was walking down the steps of the coaches box and thinking how were we 18 points behind?"
The reason, as Neeld admitted, was that the Saints had the class and experience to do what needed to be done when it mattered.
"Throughout the quarters there were patches where the Saints, to their credit, were able to turn some of their possessions chains into quality inside 50s," said Neeld.
"The stats will indicate that we touched the ball enough in comparison to the Saints but we weren't turning those possession chains into quality inside 50s."
One highlight was the performance of Tom McDonald, playing just his sixth game, who battled hard on Nick Riewoldt, restricting him to two goals. His performance was stoic, given Melbourne had lost James Frawley before the game to a calf injury.
Neeld said McDonald's performance was one of the positives to take from the game. "He is a competitive young man," said Neeld.
However the Saints had more class up forward. Stephen Milne became the fifth small forward to kick 500 career goals, while makeshift forward Beau Wilkes, playing his first game since round 14, 2010 and making his debut for the Saints, kicked three goals to take his career tally to four.
To the surprise of many, Wilkes was subbed off mid-way through the third quarter but he had done enough to tip the scales St Kilda's way.
While Watters is leading a team with three wins and two losses, Neeld goes into round six without a win on the board. He's nowhere near happy yet: "No-one likes losing," he said.
MELBOURNE 4.1 8.3 10.6 10.6 (66)
ST KILDA 5.4 8.5 10.9 12.12 (84)
GOALS
Melbourne: Jones 2, Bail 2, Moloney, Bate, Watts, Davey, Dunn, Bartram,
St Kilda: Wilkes 3, Milne 2, Steven 2, Riewoldt 2, Stanley, Montagna, Hayes
BEST
Melbourne: Jamar, Jones, Rivers, McKenzie, McDonald, Grimes, Magner
St Kilda: Hayes, Fisher, Dal Santo, Milera, Wilkes, Armitage
INJURIES
Melbourne: Frawley (calf) replaced in selected side by Tapscott
St Kilda: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Melbourne: Lynden Dunn replaced by Colin Sylvia in thethird quarter
St Kilda: Beau Wilkes replaced by Dean Polo in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Pannell, Mitchell, Mollison
Official crowd: 24,798 at the MCG
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
