St Kilda 5.3 | 11.5 | 16.6 | 19.8. 122
Carlton 5.1 | 8.6 | 12.10 | 14.14. 98

A four-goal haul from Stephen Milne and fantastic performances from St Kilda first year players Terry Milera and Ahmed Saad saw the Saints grab a 24-point win over Carlton at Etihad Stadium. Despite Chris Judd coming to the fore with 29 touches, it was not enough to inspire poor Carlton.

Nick Dal Santo worked hard as the Saints won comfortably - http://www.flickr.com/ppym1/

However, Carlton’s average game should take nothing away from the Saints, whose tagging, hard running and contested ball won them the day rather than Carlton’s wastefulness.

The Saints’ midfield comprehensively outplayed Carlton’s, with Nick Dal Santo, Farren Ray, Lenny Hayes and Leigh Montagna all delivering superb performances.

This midfield skill was coupled with the forward guile of Milne, Milera and Saad, who all made the most of their possessions to tear apart the Carlton defenders.

Such a performance down that end was coupled with a relatively quiet night for the Blues’ small forwards, with Eddie Betts contributing but Jeff Garlett being held scoreless.

Further to this, the structure of St Kilda seemed to be a struggle for the Blues to stop, with the two big men in Nick Riewoldt and Justin Koschitzke demanding attention, allowing the small forwards to run rampant.

At the other end, however, Carlton provided no such stretch for the Saints, with Jarrad Waite being kept quiet by Jason Blake and the resting forward rucks of Matthew Kreuzer and Shaun Hampson being much more concerned with rucking than contributions closer to goal.

Ultimately, it proved a triumph of tactics for the Saints over the Blues, and should certainly provide some introspection for Carlton supporters.

Votes:

3) Hayes (St Kilda)

2) Milne (St Kilda)

1) Judd (Carlton)

Goals:
St Kilda: Milne 4, Milera 3, Stanley, Saad, Armitage 2, Koschitzke, Riewoldt, Steven, Hayes, Goddard, Ray
Carlton: Ellard 3, Walker, Betts 2, Judd, Scotland, Robinson, Gibbs, Kreuzer, Simpson, Waite

Best:
St Kilda: Milne, Milera, Saad, Stanley, Hayes, Dal Santo, Ray, Montagna
Carlton: Judd, Simpson, Scotland, Kreuzer, Robinson, Hampson

Crowd: 38,823 at Etihad Stadium