ROBERT Harvey is a man of brevity and action for whom words can be an encumbrance to meaning, yet he found the words to put yesterday's remarkable win into perspective.

"If I never play in a winning grand final at least I have played in this one," Harvey said after his team recorded its most spectacular victory in years. This was a win that could make a season for St Kilda.

With its 2007 campaign on the line, on the home turf of the —albeit depleted — reigning premier and looking to pay tribute to Harvey in his 350th game, St Kilda had to win.

This was arguably the best football St Kilda has played in three years. It was the first time the Saints had won at Subiaco in nine years — Harvey might remember it but few others would, for certainly no other current Saint was playing that day. Indeed only one other Victorian team has beaten the Eagles at Subiaco in the past 60 matches there.

It is difficult to know how much of this win could be ascribed to Harvey's landmark game, if not to his individual match. The scrum that descended upon Harvey at the siren would suggest the former captain was the inspiration. Whether that inspiration can springboard beyond one game will be the next test.

"It was an important milestone for Robert and the club but that was not our focus — our focus was to come over and play well today and we did that," Saints coach Ross Lyon said.

Although he did add later that "the club loves him, and he's a great St Kilda man".

It was a game to indulge a favourite of the past two decades but it was a match that perhaps said something of the next decade.

For years the Saints have yearned for their rare collection of talent to blend at the right time. For Luke Ball's industry to mesh with Lenny Hayes'. For Nick Dal Santo's delivery to complement Leigh Montagna's run. For Jason Gram to rebound and find Nick Riewoldt working in tandem with Justin Koschitzke, not in his stead. For Xavier Clarke not to be injured. Nor Raph.

Lyon has insisted when his team has played stodgy football that it was not his desire to play ugly. It seemed a hollow suggestion as the Saints ran numbers high up the ground and held the ball up.

Yesterday suggested that the coach was correct in his assertion that it is his preference to run the corridor. It is his preference to go long to the forward line. His side simply was not doing it.

Throughout the game the Saints emptied their forward line, leaving Riewoldt playing high from centre half-forward and Koschitzke working from the goal square when he was not operating from the centre square.

Certainly it must be accepted that West Coast was without Ben Cousins, Chad Fletcher, Andrew Embley and most importantly, the late withdrawal Chris Judd. It might be churlish to mention, but it is difficult to imagine the Eagles losing at home with Judd in the team.

In contrast, St Kilda seemed to operate more freely up forward in the absence of Fraser Gehrig. Importantly the St Kilda midfield, damned as slow and sporadic, ran and broke lines. They carried in the corridor and matched the Eagles for aggression. And on a day when the Saints were honouring Harvey, those attributes were certainly apt.