A FEW years ago, Nick Dal Santo was what Marc Murphy and Bryce Gibbs are now: a talented young onballer in an ordinary team, trying to figure out how to get rid of his first taggers.

Now, Dal Santo is more used to winning, and has some simple advice for his young Carlton counterparts: learn to run more relentlessly than your opponent, but don't expect to burn them off in a hurry.

"The tricky thing is that you can know what you want to do, but it takes a while to be able to do it. It's a work-rate thing, but it's hard to get that sort of running base as a young player," Dal Santo said after Friday night's win over the Blues.

The Saints started well, then chopped off a five-goal Carlton surge late in the third quarter to win by 43 points and notch their third win.

Both Dal Santo and Luke Ball found some midfield ball, and form, while Murphy endured Steven Baker's attention, no doubt wishing Nick Stevens was not out of the side, recovering from neck surgery.

"I think I'm still learning to deal with it myself, to tell the truth," Dal Santo said. "But when you first start getting tagged, it's a bit of a wake-up call and probably one of the reasons you do have up and downs, especially as a young player.

"You look at somebody like Marc Murphy, who's going to have to deal with a lot of it, and all it is is work-rate. I think he's a quality player and he should be able to work through it, but it's just going to take a bit of time.

"I think you learn from what the older players tell you, and I've been fortunate to have someone like Rob Harvey, who's put up with it for 15 years, and his mentality is to run them off their legs, pretty much.

"It takes a long time to get that running base, but it's a team game and you can't feel too bad about it. You feel bad if you're not getting the possessions you think you should be getting, but you have to find other ways to contribute and help out, and everything else will come."

Dal Santo was not the only St Kilda player to enjoy an "up" night in what has been an unpredictable start. Fraser Gehrig kicked six goals, recaptured some first-round form, and could have finished with eight had two shots early in the final term not gone astray.

Sam Gilbert, recruited from near the NSW/Queensland border two years ago, played with energy and intensity in his fourth senior game. James Gwilt not only kept Brendan Fevola quiet early, but found more of the ball than anyone else. Rookie Clint Jones chased, harassed and tackled whomever he could get close to.

Fevola played a more meaningful part in the second half, and both he and Lance Whitnall were important in the surge that sneaked the Blues to within two points with a few minutes left in the third term. Jarrad Waite did an excellent job at the other end, up against Nick Riewoldt.

Dal Santo, who found Gehrig for a late third-term goal that punctured Carlton's run, said a good start had been crucial for the up-and-down Saints, just as playing well again next week against Sydney would be.

"We need some continuity with what we're doing. I think we've been working hard and doing everything we can in that regard, but our approach now is all about structure and sticking to a plan," he said.

"There have been times in games where we drift away from that, and don't do the percentage things. Our footy smarts could be a bit better at times, and that's what we've got to remember from now on."

ST KILDA 4.3 8.8 13.11 18.17 (125)
CARLTON 2.5 4.11 10.14 11.16 (82)
GOALS St Kilda: Gehrig 6, Milne 3, Gilbert 2, Gram 2, Dal Santo, Koschitzke, Riewoldt, Fiora, Harvey. Carlton: Fevola 6, Whitnall 3, Betts, Walker.
BEST St Kilda: Dal Santo, Ball, Gehrig, Harvey, Montagna, Gilbert.
Carlton: Waite, Fevola, Scotland, Whitnall, Walker, Thornton.
REPORTS St Kilda: Baker for allegedly striking Murphy (Carlton) in the last quarter.
UMPIRES Rosebury, Allen, Jeffery.
CROWD 45,513 at Telstra Dome.