ST KILDA 5.4 9.5 12.6 16.10 (106)

MELBOURNE 5.1 7.5 10.7 13.8 (86)

Goals: St Kilda: N Riewoldt 3 S Milne 3 J Cripps 2 L Montagna 2 A Schneider A Siposs B Peake C Jones D Polo F Ray. Melbourne: L Jurrah 3 A Maric 2 B Green 2 J Watts 2 M Newton 2 J Gysberts R Petterd.

Umpires: Matt Stevic, Troy Pannell, Jeff Dalgleish.

Best: St Kilda: L Montagna C Jones N Riewoldt B Goddard S Milne S Gilbert. Melbourne: N Jones J Watts J Gysberts M Evans S Martin J Rivers.

Crowd: 28,863 at Etihad Stadium.

St Kilda stars Nick Riewoldt and Brendon Goddard showed promising signs of form as the club posted a much-needed win over a disappointing Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.



The Saints led for much of the day and, while the Demons fought back to level the scores in the third quarter, St Kilda pulled away to win 16.10 (106) to 13.8 (86).



The loss builds the pressure on Melbourne coach Dean Bailey, with his side's thumping 96-point win over Adelaide in round seven shining like a beacon among poor defeats to West Coast, North Melbourne and the Saints in their past four games.



While neither Saints captain Riewoldt nor star utility Goddard were back to their brilliant best, both made significant contributions.



Riewoldt kicked three goals without a miss, while Goddard, playing mostly at half-back, picked up 37 touches.



Midfielder Leigh Montagna was a driving force, with 38 possessions and two goals, while goalsneak Stephen Milne sparked his side with three first-half goals and set up two for Riewoldt.



The Saints led by two goals at half-time, helped by Melbourne’s lack of intensity and sloppy skills.



That was most evident late in the half, when Aaron Davey, who was well held by Clinton Jones, made a woeful attempt to mark at half-back, failing to even touch the ball, allowing Jones to pounce for a goal.



Melbourne could have replied, but forward Michael Newton capped a terrible first half by missing a shot from the edge of the goalsquare.



The Demons showed more fire early in the third quarter, kicking three of the first four goals to level the scores.



But after the Saints moved a goal clear, missed shots by Melbourne’s Nathan Jones and Ricky Petterd allowed St Kilda to stretch the lead to 11 points at the last change, helped by a classy Montagna goal.



The contest was all but sealed less than a minute into the final term, when Riewoldt goaled from point blank range, after Davey gave away a 50-metre penalty.



Jones battled hard in the midfield for Melbourne, Jack Watts showed class at half-back and drifted forward to kick two goals, and 18-year-old midfielder Michael Evans made an impressive debut.



The Demons lost Luke Tapscott to a hamstring injury in the first term.



AAP