St Kilda has secured their fourth consecutive win this season, defeating the Gold Coast Suns by 26 points.
The Saints have never lost to Gold Coast, and once again they provided their dominance over the expansion club. In the absence of Brett Ratten, Brendon Lade's men topped disposals (397-329), clearances (42-24) and contested possessions (138-120) in an impressive performance around the footy.
The result should keep St Kilda in the top four and at 4-1, former Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson speculated the Saints might be premiership material.
“The Saints might be the real deal,” Sanderson told AFL Nation.
In front of 18,724 footy fans in attendance at Marvel Stadium, the Saints kicked the last two goals of the first half, gained momentum through the third and then blew out the game out in the final term, kicking four goals to seal the deal.
While the Suns challenged the Saints in the first half, especially with a nine-point lead early in the second term, St Kilda headed into every quarter in front.
Best on ground Jack Higgins was warmly welcomed back by fans and teammates alike, scoring a career high of five goals alongside 10 score involvements.
Jade Gresham was playing his milestone 100th game for St Kilda and was instrumental in his side's victory. He's one of just five players in the competition to average at least 25 disposals and one goal this season.
For the Suns, skipper Touk Miller was fantastic with 32 disposals and 16 contested possessions.
St Kilda will face Greater Western Sydney in six days while Gold Coast will look to redeem themselves against the Brisbane Lions next Sunday.
FULL SCORE
St Kilda: 3.3, 6.7, 9.8, 13.9 (87)
Gold Coast Suns: 2.1, 6.1, 7.4, 9.7 (61)
GOALS
St Kilda: J Higgins 5, M King 3, J Gresham 2, J Hayes, T Membrey, S Ross
Gold Coast Suns: B Ainsworth, J Corbett 2, L Casboult, M Chol, B Ellis, N Holman, I Rankine
BEST
St Kilda: J Higgins, J Steele, R Marshell, M King, B Crouch
Gold Coast Suns: T Miller, N Anderson, M Chol, B Ellis, B Ainsworth
INJURIES
St Kilda: N/A
Gold Coast Suns: M Chol (adductor) replaced by R Atkins