THE SAINTS have taken their first step towards emerging from their self-proclaimed "rough patch" by winning their first game since round five and sixth in a row against Melbourne with a 20-point victory at Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

In an unusually open game where stoppage numbers were down and the combined teams' possession count reached 817, the Saints handed the Demons their fourth loss for the season, 16.10 (106) to 13.8 (86).

After what was his best game for the season, Brendon Goddard told Channel 10 the Saints "had a bit to prove" heading into the game, and Saturday had been all about "gaining respect back for the group".

His declaration came after a week where St Kilda coach Ross Lyon pledged his commitment to the club and took the hard line by dropping Jason Gram, Andrew McQualter and Ben McEvoy after a dramatic fade out against Hawthorn.

His players responded to his actions by getting on top of the Demons with the first two goals of the game, both to Stephen Milne, and then never relinquishing the lead.

Dean Bailey's men weren't disgraced and drew even with the Saints twice before the final quarter, where they seemed to lose momentum after Aaron Davey handed Nick Riewoldt a certain goal with a 50m penalty in the opening 30 seconds.

Riewoldt's goal pushed the Saints 17 points clear, and while the Demons didn't stop fighting and benefitted from two late goals to Liam Jurrah, they couldn't get any closer than 15 points at the 26-minute mark.

Bailey can be heartened by the fact his side didn't "give up", as was the assessment of last week's loss to North Melbourne.

However, they lost yet another player to injury with Luke Tapscott leaving the field at the 20-minute mark of the first quarter clutching his right hamstring.

Tapscott will join Col Garland, Tom Scully, Rohan Bail, Austin Wonaeamirri, Mark Jamar and Jack Grimes - and the suspended Jack Trengove - on the sidelines, although the Demons will be buoyed by the return of Jordie McKenzie, who had 16 touches, three clearances in his first game for the year.

Influential players
For Melbourne, Brent Moloney and Nathan Jones combined for 16 of the Demons' 52 inside 50s, while first-gamer Michael Evans burst onto the scene with 27 touches and seven inside 50s of his own.

What it means
For the Demons, another tough week looms with Bailey again pledging to send players back to the VFL. He made a similar threat last week after the loss to the Kangaroos but three injuries and a suspension made unforced omissions hard. The Demons have the next five games at the MCG, which gives them a better chance, but they'll need to do some soul searching as well as there's some tough opposition ahead. 

The Demons' demons
Melbourne has not beaten St Kilda since the 2006 elimination final at the MCG when Neale Daniher was coach, David Neitz kicked four goals and the Demons won by 18 points. It was also Grant Thomas' last game as Saints' coach and Aaron Hamill's last as a player.

The Demons have also failed to record at win at Etihad Stadium since round 19, 2007, which equals 10 straight losses at the Docklands venue, and Bailey remains winless against the Saints in five starts.

Interesting fact
Evans was impressive on debut but what made his first game all the more interesting was the fact he donned No.50 - a guernsey usually sighted in the lower leagues. In fact, there are only seven other players in the League who have numbers higher than 50, and none of them have played at senior level yet. Melbourne rookie Cam Johnstone wears No.52, Richmond rookie Nick Westhoff No.51, Collingwood rookie Shae McNamara No.50 and Gold Coast has four - Jeremy Taylor (50), Jake Crawford (51), Joel Tippett (52) and Nathan Ablett (55) - with high numbers, although young cricketer Alex Keath remains on their list next to No.53.

The player to have appeared at AFL level with the highest number ever was short-lived Collingwood player Andrew Witts, who wore No.65 for his seven career games in 1985. 

Toyota AFL Dream Team highlight
Melbourne: Welcome to the big time. Playing his first game for the Demons, Evans more than doubled the number on the back of his jumper, finishing with a score of 108. Six other Melbourne players chalked up three figures, with Neville Jetta leading the way with 111.

Next four: The future ahead
Melbourne: The Demons next month of football will prove a big test for Dean Bailey's men as they face four sides currently occupying positions in the top eight. There's Carlton and Essendon on Friday night under lights at the MCG, followed by a Queen's Birthday clash against Collingwood and then Fremantle at home.

What the coach said
Melbourne - Dean Bailey
"At least we were better than last week. We still have some work to be done and we look forward to another opportunity next week to improve on this game.

"We don't want to be in that rollercoaster ride of good one week, poor the next. We have to break out of that, break the shackles off it.

"I thought even though we turned the ball over, at least we tried to make the game and get on with creating some play. I thought that was a better sign."


St Kilda                            5.4     9.5     12.6       16.10 (106)
Melbourne                        5.1     7.5     10.7       13.8 (86)

GOALS
St Kilda: Milne 3, Riewoldt 3, Montagna 2, Cripps 2, Ray, Jones, Siposs, Schneider, Polo, Peake
Melbourne: Jurrah 3, Green 2, Watts 2, Maric 2, Newton 2, Petterd, Gysberts

BEST
St Kilda: Montagna, Jones, Armitage, Milne, Riewoldt, Gilbert, Peake
Melbourne: Jones, Moloney, Evans, Maric, Watts, Gysberts

INJURIES
St Kilda: Nil
Melbourne: Tapscott (hamstring)

SUBSTITUTES
St Kilda: Luke Tapscott (hamstring) replaced by Matthew Bate during the first quarter
Melbourne: Arryn Siposs replaced by Jamie Cripps at three-quarter time

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Stevic, Dalgleish, Pannell

Official crowd: 28,863 at Etihad Stadium