ST KILDA fans have long ridden a roller-coaster of emotions.

Last night was no different at Telstra Dome, as they watched their frustrating, but rarely boring, team rediscover at least some of their mojo following a jittery start to the year.

The Saints jumped out of the blocks against Essendon, which looked hesitant in the early stages last night and frequently turned over the football.

The final 36-point margin in favour of St Kilda was on the cards early, but there was little sign of the desperation that threatened to deliver the Bombers an unlikely win.

Essendon clawed back within 16 points after slipping 51 points behind, but the Bombers struggled to run out the match and St Kilda registered its third victory of the season.

The Saints, through Stephen Milne, Nick Riewoldt and David Armitage, kicked four goals to two in the final term, clinching a desperately needed triumph, but failing to convince their fans their premiership hopes are right on track.

Any nerves the Bombers felt in the early stages, when they made several costly turnovers, soon faded as Bachar Houli and then Andrew Lovett kicked important goals.

Suggestions during the week that the Saints simply needed to carry out some constructive tinkering, rather than a major overhaul, seemed accurate as their dominance at the stoppages turned to a significant advantage on the scoreboard.

The Saints had eight scoring shots in the opening term, with each of their five goals coming from midfielders.

Essendon kicked three goals straight in the first term and had 12.1 on the board at half-time, but accuracy alone was never going to be enough last night.

Bombers skipper Matthew Lloyd was well held by Max Hudghton in the first half and finished with only seven disposals and one behind for the night.

The Saints went into last night's contest desperate to restore credibility to the pre-season hype surrounding their flag chances.

In his second year at the helm, Ross Lyon's game plan has begun taking shape, but the results have not been coming anywhere near as quickly as he would have liked.

He remained calm in the wake of last week's loss to Geelong, saying the season was "well and truly alive" for his team.

As hinted after the Cats cruised to victory, forward Fraser Gehrig carried the can for the under-performing trio of tall timber in the Saints' forward line and was dropped.

In his third match back after one of the shortest retirements in VFL/AFL history, Gehrig's lack of defensive pressure was horribly exposed by the Cats.

If nothing else, the G-Train's axing turned up the heat on Riewoldt and Justin Koschitzke, who had four touches between them in the opening term last night.

Armitage, in only his fourth game, former Geelong forward Charlie Gardiner and Swans reject Sean Dempster shone early, while the out-of-sorts Nick Dal Santo had nine valuable touches before quarter-time. Gardiner's simple chip kick to Lenny Hayes 11 minutes into the term was the first sign Essendon's defensive pressure was lacking, a flaw St Kilda was able to exploit early.

Hayes, who slotted a goal from just inside 50 metres, stretched the lead to 12 points before the Bombers answered with Andrew Lovett's blistering run and goal.

Livewire Alwyn Davey's tenacious tackling helped lock the ball inside Essendon's attacking zone, where Adam Ramanauskas goaled and cut the margin to one point just before the first break.

The tight arm-wrestle was broken just before the siren when Armitage drilled his first goal in league football with his seventh kick for the term.

Hudghton continued to hold sway over Lloyd in the second term, restricting the Essendon star to only two handballs and one mark for the quarter.

At the other end of the ground, Koschitzke worked his way into the game, goaling inside the opening minute of the term to give the Saints a 14-point buffer.

Last week, Xavier Clarke personified St Kilda's plight when he was carried from the field, but last night he was lively in attack for the Saints.

His lightning-quick handball to Milne helped set up Riewoldt's first goal and put St Kilda 28 points ahead.

The Saints piled on seven goals for the term, with Dal Santo, Hayes and veteran Robert Harvey gaining the ascendancy over their younger opponents.

Houli broke the drought for Essendon with his second after breaking clear of Milne at half-back and streaming up the ground, but it looked like too little, too late, for the Bombers.

Enter Adam McPhee.

Five minutes into the third term, the blond Bomber slotted his first goal, sparking a run of six unanswered Essendon goals that brought the Dons within 16 points.

As the Bombers lifted their work-rate through Lovett, Jason Laycock, Jay Nash and Patrick Ryder, St Kilda struggled to maintain its earlier midfield dominance and a stunning boilover was looming.

Dal Santo was forced off the ground clutching his shoulder, but returned to help stem the flow of goals and was among the Saints' best players.

Riewoldt's second goal, coming just before three-quarter-time, steadied the Saints and they went to the final break 23 points ahead.

ST KILDA 5.3 12.9 14.12 18.15 (123)
ESSENDON 3.0 6.1 12.1 14.3 (87)
GOALS: St Kilda: Riewoldt 3, Armitage 2, Koschitzke 2, C Gardiner 2, Ball 2, Montagna 2, Hayes, X Clarke, Dempster, King, Milne. Essendon: McPhee 2, Lovett 2, Houli 2, Stanton 2, Ramanauskas, Welsh, Pears, Nash, Laycock, Ryder.
BEST: St Kilda: Dal Santo, S Fisher, Riewoldt, Hayes, Harvey, Hudghton, Armitage. Essendon: Houli, Ryder, Hille, Watson, McPhee.
INJURIES St Kilda: King (hamstring/back spasm).
UMPIRES Vozzo, M Nicholls, Jeffery.
CROWD 46,792 at Telstra Dome.

THE UPSHOT
THE Saints showed they are a better team than they have been playing like in the past few weeks, seemingly benefiting from more space in the forward line in Fraser Gehrig's absence.

TALKING POINT
THE young Bombers showed in an electrifying third quarter, which produced a run of six straight goals, that their fans do have something to look forward to.

HOT AND COLD
ROBERT Harvey did not touch the ball once in the first quarter, but came alive after that, finishing the game with 29 disposals.