ST KILDA forward Nick Riewoldt has praised his teammates for their fighting qualities after they held off a strong Carlton surge in Friday night's much-needed win over the Blues.

The Saints bounced back from their dreadful hiding by Port Adelaide in round five to emerge 43-point winners, and came away with the double bonus of an injury-free night.

The only negative was the report of Steven Baker, who has a nervous wait to see if he will take the field against Sydney next week after he was booked by the emergency umpire for allegedly striking Carlton's Marc Murphy in the fourth term.

Fraser Gehrig also may come under scrutiny after he made contact to the face of Carlton defender Setanta O'hAilpin with an open hand before the opening bounce.

Riewoldt said Carlton had put up a spirited showing and the Saints could be pleased with their performance.

"Full credit to Carlton. They have shown a couple of times this year that they are never out of it," Riewoldt said yesterday.

"When they came back really hard at us there in the third quarter, it was important that we responded and to get a couple of goals late in the third quarter really set up the win for us.

"I think when you are challenged, it is always good to respond (and) to respond the way we did, (we) definitely take a lot out of that."

Riewoldt pointed to the team's tough tackling and the performance of the undermanned back line as the keys to the Saints' victory.

"Carlton have got some really good forwards, so I thought our defence played really well. It was admirable the way they went about it.

"I think over the last couple of weeks we have been beaten in areas that have been a strong focus for us all pre-season. And that is your tackling and winning the contested ball, so that was a big focus going in."

Gehrig starred for St Kilda kicking six goals, including the last two goals of the third quarter, which extended the Saints' lead at three-quarter-time to 15 points.

The Saints will play Sydney next Saturday night at Telstra Dome. Riewoldt believes coach Ross Lyon's intimate knowledge of the Swans, where he was assistant coach, will be an advantage for St Kilda.

"This week coming up against Sydney, it is going to be a big game for a lot of reasons, obviously Ross against his old club," Riewoldt said.

"Hopefully, he will have a bit of inside knowledge. Well, I'm sure he will, and we will be able to play to a plan that he gives us and execute that the way he wants.

"I think it does (help). I think anyone that has spent time at a club, they know the intricacies of different players and things they like, things they don't like and you can coach that to your players."