ST KILDA hung on grittily to defeat Fremantle by eight points last night keeping alive its hopes of playing finals this year and pretty well ending the Dockers' chance of doing likewise.

It was a low-scoring game defined as much by the chances that were missed as by those taken. Nick Riewoldt clinched it for the Saints when he snapped his third goal around the body after Fremantle had failed to clear the ball from its half-back line.

The Dockers had an immediate opportunity to come back within three points but as Peter Bell raced into an open goal, the ball was brought back and a free kick paid against Matthew Pavlich, who had crashed into Max Hudghton's back as he spoiled the ball into Bell's path. Cruelly, Fremantle would not have been in the game at all without Pavlich's five-goal contribution.

Instead, it was Riewoldt who provided the critical difference. With the lead just eight points, he marked deep in defence to repel a Dockers forward thrust. It was his 18th mark of the game and with three goals as well, his contribution was immense. Most of those marks were uncontested and he did not always get the ball in damaging positions, but he had it a lot, which at least meant Fremantle didn't.

Riewoldt and Pavlich aside, it was a game of midfielders with all 36 on the ground often to be found either in one half of it or crowded in between the two 50-metre zones. Luke Ball, Brendon Goddard and Robert Harvey all found plenty of it for the winners. Rhys Palmer, Dean Solomon and Ryan Crowley were among the busiest for the Dockers.

St Kilda led by 11 points at three-quarter-time, after Fremantle had struck early in the term to hit the lead. Aaron Sandilands had a chance to put the Dockers 10 points up when he was paid a free kick in a ruck contest, but his shot from 30 metres out directly in front was wide and the Saints hit back with the last three goals of the quarter.

It was that man Pavlich who pushed Fremantle into the lead. Having kicked four of his sides five first-half goals, he eluded his new opponent, Sam Fisher, to mark and score his fifth on the resumption of play. Riewoldt and Charlie Gardiner missed chances for the Saints before Matthew Carr converted from a free kick to give Fremantle a four-point lead.

Then came Sandilands' miss and immediately Goddard marked a long kick forward to goal and put St Kilda back in front. Riewoldt got one from a free and Jason Gram scored his second goal of the game from the 50-metre arc after Michael Johnson's fumble gave Harvey possession to give St Kilda a handy lead.

It took almost 10 minutes for either side to score at the start of the second quarter and then St Kilda booted two goals within two minutes to scoot 27 points clear.

From that moment till half-time, the Saints' lead leached slowly away until they led by only seven at the break. Indeed, had Palmer not missed a set shot from 40 metres from a free, the lead would have been less than one straight kick.

It was that sort of night for Palmer. One of Fremantle's brighter lights in a so-far dismal year, he had been penalised for deliberate out of bounds in the first quarter as his left-foot kick wobbled over the line. Harvey took the free, passed inside to Riewoldt and the Saints had their third goal.

Then, in the second term, Palmer's attempt to keep the ball alive in Fremantle's back line misfired when his short kick went straight to Leigh Montagna, whose high centring kick cleared a pack and landed in the lap of Goddard for the goal that extended the lead to its maximum.

Just before that, Gram had decided the way to beat the flood was to run to 50 and let fly. His kick sailed through for the Saints' fifth goal and rewarded one of the few bits of positive play for the half.

Fortunately for the Dockers, they had Pavlich. Coming off an eight-goal effort against North Melbourne last week, the Fremantle skipper got his first after receiving a somewhat charitable free kick against his opponent, Jason Blake. Pavlich looked as shocked as anyone else to get it, but he slammed the kick through for the Dockers' first.

He got his second, and Fremantle's third, when Ball's attempt to handball clear at centre half-back bounced past James Gwilt to Crowley and Pavlich snapped accurately from the resulting handball.

Pavlich got another when he marked strongly over Hudghton and Sam Fisher. He went into the centre square for the bounce after that goal and then ran hard to the forward pocket to mark over Gram. That was his fourth and the Dockers were back to within eight points in an unlikely turn of events.

Earlier, Ball had been fortunate to escape serious injury when Robert Warnock collided with him after a mark and he crumpled to the ground over his left ankle. Montagna took the free kick and, with the benefit of the 50-metre penalty, got the Saints' fourth.

Fortunately, Ball was soon back in the action. Not so lucky was Lenny Hayes, who had 16 possessions in the war of attrition that was the first quarter, but spent the second sitting on the bench with an ominous-looking ice-pack on his right hamstring.

ST KILDA 4.3 6.3 9.5 10.5 (65)
FREMANTLE 2.0 5.2 7.6 8.9 (57)
GOALS — St Kilda: Riewoldt 3, Goddard 2, Gram 2, Gilbert, Hayes, Montagna. Femantle: Pavlich 5, Murphy, Carr, Crowley.
BEST — St Kilda: Ball, Harvey, Goddard, Riewoldt, Eddy, Hayes.
Fremantle: Pavlich, Palmer, Solomon, Mayne, Sandilands, Crowley.
INJURIES: St Kilda: Hayes (hamstring).
UMPIRES: McBurney, Farmer, Jeffery.
CROWD: 22,440 at Telstra Dome.

THE UPSHOT

In a game the Dockers had every opportunity to win, the cellar dwellers again failed to seize the momentum at crucial moments. Despite a strong performance up forward from skipper Matthew Pavlich, Fremantle's attacking set-up lacked cohesion, while defensively, it regularly wasted possession. St Kilda's desperately needed sixth win keeps its finals hopes well and truly alive.

TALKING POINT

St Kilda started strongly and lifted its intensity in the first term when Fremantle's Robert Warnock put a late bump on Luke Ball. The Saints midfielder collapsed on the ground and teammates came from all points to remonstrate with Warnock. Leigh Montagna took the resultant free kick and 50-metre penalty, kicking the Saints' fourth goal, but replays showed Ball fell awkwardly and Warnock's shoulder had little impact.

HOT AND COLD

Lenny Hayes had 16 disposals in the first term, including four inside 50s, four contested possessions, five marks and one goal. But late in the term, he injured his hamstring and took no further part in the game.