ST KILDA 3.2 7.5 10.7 15.13 (103)
WEST COAST 3.5 7.8 10.10 14.11 (95)
Goals: St Kilda: J Billings 2 J Bruce 2 J Steele 2 T Membrey 2 B Acres J Newnes J Sinclair L Dunstan N Riewoldt S Ross S Savage. West Coast: J Kennedy 5 M LeCras 3 J Darling 2 D Sheed J Cripps J McGovern M Karpany.
Umpires: Jacob Mollison, Shane McInerney, Andrew Mitchell.
Official Crowd: 22,688 at Etihad Stadium.
St Kilda's hopes of playing in their first finals series since 2011 are still alive after pulling off a stirring eight point victory over the West Coast Eagles at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
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Saints finals hopes alive after downing Eagles
In a see-sawing match, St Kilda held off the Eagles in the final stages to grab an 8 point win.
The Saints trailed the Eagles by 14 points early in the final term but rallied to take the lead through a Jack Steele snap from a boundary throw in, and then held on to the advantage for the rest of the quarter.
But it wasn't without a scare, as Josh Kennedy cut the margin to one point late in the game to make the Saints nervous, but the result was assured with 30 seconds remaining when Jack Billings converted a set shot.
![Gotcha: Eagle Shannon Hurn is wrapped up in a tackle.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170809095533im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/q/c/e/k/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxq8la.png/1502018853099.jpg)
St Kilda, who last week succumbed to a stunning last gasp defeat to Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval, had been tipped by many in the pre-season to break into the eight, but in recent weeks and at times through the year their performances have suggested they might not be ready for September action.
This win, however, added weight to their finals credentials because they were forced to wrestle themselves back into the contest on numerous occasions, against a team of hardened finals performers.
Jack Steele, Jack Newnes, Shane Savage and Blake Acres were assured all day for the Saints, while Billings, admittedly sloppy at times, had enough quality influence on the game to make his side good enough when operating in the forward half.
The win will also possibly extend the twilight of Nick Riewoldt's career, however the champion ended the game on the bench. He didn't have a huge impact on the contest and looked injured twice in the game, the second time more serious.Â
The first knock came in the second quarter when he took a hit to his leg.  The second injury occurred in dramatic fashion in the final term. Attacking a loose ball, Riewoldt clashed heads with West Coast's Dom Sheed, and was forced from the field. The champion looked groggy as soon as he got up, and didn't return.Â
While the Eagles' loss wasn't as meek as other away defeats this season - to Hawthorn, Essendon, Gold Coast and Collingwood - West Coast twill be disappointed they couldn't win a game they looked to control  after kicking three goals to one early in the final quarter.
Steele was superb in his head-to-head contest with West Coast's Luke Shuey. Steele gathered 26 disposals, 10 clearances, 11 tackles and two goals while Shuey only had 18 disposals, three tackles and four clearances.Â
The Saints are now equal on points with West Coast, Melbourne and Essendon, who sit in eighth position, and play the Demons (MCG), North Melbourne (Etihad Stadium) and Richmond (MCG) to end the season.Â
The first quarter was tight on the scoreboard and but not tight in the contest as both sides seemed more content to look for ascendancy on the outside of contests rather than piling on tackles and pressure. Â
The Saints took three marks inside 50 for the term but wasted plenty of entries with impotent, high kicking to their forwards, a sin against the West Coast backline. Â
At the other end, the Eagles forwards were able to isolate their opponents one-on-one while their midfielders were frugal with their attacking kicking.
But Jack Darling, Josh Kennedy and Jack Redden missed simple set shots  so the Eagles weren't rewarded for their cleaner disposal.Â
West Coast's defensive aggression soared in the second term whicht also made them a more dangerous attacking unit.
The Eagles kicked four goals in a row in the middle of the quarter by locking the Saints in their defensive 50 but St Kilda responded with their own volley of majors, kicking three in a row to end the half and stay in touch with their opponents.Â
The intensity rose again in the third term, with the pressure taking its toll on players. Not even the most experienced could avoid the heat in the game, with Riewoldt inexplicably missing a shot running into an open goal.
That allowed West Coast to rebound. They went coast-to-coast from the retiring Saint champion's mistake, Kennedy getting the finish on the run from 50 meters.Â
But eventually, the Saints broke free from West Coast's press in the final quarter to register the important win.Â