ST KILDA 3.3 10.6 12.7 15.9 (99) WEST COAST 3.4 4.5 10.7 11.10 (76)
Goals: St Kilda: J Koschitzke 4 S Baker S Milne N Dal Santo 2 M Rix X Clarke S Gilbert N Riewoldt L Montagna. West Coast: M Braun M Seaby Q Lynch 2 R Jones S Hurn M Le Cras J Graham D Cox.
Best: St Kilda: J Koschitzke L Montagna N Dal Santo X Clarke R Harvey. West Coast: M Braun D Cox M Seaby S Hurn T Stenglein.
Umpires: M Head C Hendrie D Goldspink.
Crowd: 39,401 at Subiaco Oval.

St Kilda have given Robert Harvey a fitting memory in his 350th game, hanging on to beat West Coast by 23 points in a thrilling finish at Subiaco Oval.

After the Saints broke out to a 44-point lead midway through the third term, an Eagles tidal wave brought the premiers to within four points in the final stanza and in sight of another remarkable comeback.

But after withstanding a fierce barrage in the closing minutes, Nick Dal Santo capped a brilliant day with a breakaway goal to complete Harvey's fairytale.

Without Chris Judd, a late scratching with a groin injury, the Eagles' first half was unrecognisable from the team which started the season so dominantly.

They were outplayed and outrun on their home ground after a week off.

Becoming just the 10th player in VFL/AFL history to reach the 350 milestone, Harvey's 18 first-half touches were instrumental in building his team's handsome - and deserved - 37-point lead.

In an outstanding half of concerted pressure, the Saints harried the Eagles out of their swagger while applying more pressure to the West Coast defence than any other visitor this year.

Justin Koschitzke provided the Eagles with a puzzle they could not solve, marking strongly, kicking truly and feeding off the midfield dominance to kick four first half goals.

And with Harvey (30 touches) and Leigh Montagna (31 touches) running amok - and unlikely goalscoring allies in Steven Baker, Michael Rix and Sam Gilbert - the Saints' finals hope were alive once more at the main break.

In contrast, the absence of Judd, alongside Andrew Embley, Ashley Hansen, Chad Fletcher and of course Ben Cousins looked like a star too far for the famed Eagles midfield.

But they did still have Daniel Kerr - and his 12-possession third quarter sparked his sluggish teammates into life in fearsome fashion.

Finally breaking the shackles of Luke Ball, Kerr inspired a run of six out of seven goals, with Mark Seaby's strong mark and goal after the siren taking the margin to 12 with a term to play.

Quinten Lynch's major within a minute of the break reduced it further, and the Eagles looked for all the world as if they were ready to ruin Harvey's party.

But his teammates somehow emulated the work ethic the dual Brownlow medallist has brought to his game since 1988, holding firm in the back half before kicking away.

In doing so, the Saints became just the second Victorian team in 60 attempts to take four points off the Eagles in Perth and, in the process, consigning the Eagles to their fourth defeat in the last six outings.

AAP