ST KILDA'S wretched run with injury continued last night when veteran midfielder Robert Harvey tore his left hamstring in the first quarter against Fremantle at Subiaco Oval.

Harvey was poised to gather a loose ball during time-on of the first term, but sustained the injury and immediately went to ground. He was assisted from the field by Saints medical staff and didn't return, cutting a forlorn figure from the visitors' dugout.

Harvey's expected absence is a massive blow for St Kilda, which arrived in Perth on Tuesday with only 25 fit players.

St Kilda supporters held their breath when injury-prone big man Justin Koschitzke copped a heavy knock to the head from Docker Michael Johnson early in the third quarter, a clash that saw the Fremantle defender reported.

Koschitzke was initially stunned by the blow, but was able to take his free kick and didn't need to leave the ground.

There was no sirengate in this Fremantle-St Kilda clash, no narrow margin and no whispers in the sky field umpire scandal, although there was some controversy over one goal umpiring decision.

There was plenty of indigenous magic on display, all from Fremantle, but at the end of the night it was hard to tell if the 46-point Dockers win represented the start of a reconciliation with the team's pre-season potential or just a win they should have had at home against an undermanned opponent.

While all the talk was about the indigenous round, in the end it was a former skipper born in Korea who drove the Dockers to a much-needed 15.11 (101) to 6.19 (55) win, Peter Bell's 30 possessions and three goals helping to break St Kilda's back.

Bell received strong support from defenders Heath Black and Luke McPharlin, midfielder Paul Hasleby and forwards Matthew Pavlich and Chris Tarrant, who kicked three goals each.

But the Dockers will also come out of the match pondering what to make the most of: the first and last quarters when they surged effortlessly clear of the injury-stricken Saints or the second and third quarters when only poor St Kilda kicking stopped them from surging back into this match.

The Dockers had picked six of the eight indigenous players on their list and by quarter-time three of them had kicked goals. Troy Cook kicked the first after slipping into space across half-forward. Des Headland kicked the second three minutes later, a thumping drop punt from 50 metres.

By the time Michael Johnson kicked the team's fifth 21 minutes into the quarter Fremantle had a 30-point lead.

St Kilda, on the other hand, had no dual Brownlow medallist by the 25-minute mark of the first term, with Harvey snapping his left hamstring.

The Saints' continuing injury plague is mowing down the club's players faster than they can replace them. By quarter-time the Dockers had seemingly mowed down St Kilda's hopes of an upset win as well, with St Kilda's only first-quarter goal coming from Fraser Gehrig.

The Dockers got sloppy in the second term, turning the ball over in positions that allowed the Saints shots at goal but the visitors' chances disappeared through the behind posts.

St Kilda kicked 1.7, while the Dockers booted two straight goals and were a comfortable five goals clear at half-time.

The highlight of an error-riddled second term was a magnificent marking contest between Bell and Aaron Fiora. Fiora clasped the ball high before plummeting head first into the turf. He was so shaken he missed the shot at goal.

The third quarter had the Dockers flirting with disaster, surrendering control of the centre clearances to the Saints, who started to generate run through Luke Ball and Nick Dal Santo, with Nick Riewoldt dominating Steven Dodd.

The Saints got to within 15 points, but again muffed more chances than they took.

FREMANTLE 6.6 8.6 10.9 15.11 (101)
ST KILDA 1.4 2.11 5.16 6.19 (55)
GOALS Fremantle: Bell 3, Pavlich 3, Tarrant 3, Cook, Headland, Johnson, Solomon, Black, Collard. St Kilda: Dal Santo, Gehrig, Gilbert, Koschitzke, Riewoldt, Rix.
BEST Fremantle: Bell, Hasleby, Johnson, Sandilands, Headland. St Kilda: Dal Santo, Hayes, Gilbert, Riewoldt, Koschitzke.
INJURIES St Kilda: Harvey (hamstring).
UMPIRES: Margetts, Chamberlain, McInerney.
CROWD: 39,034 at Subiaco Oval.