ST KILDA kept its finals hopes alive by stealing a match it never looked like winning, running over the top of a stagnant North Melbourne to win by 15 points on the Gold Coast.

The unlikeliest of heroes was Stephen Milne, who returned from the VFL to bob up with four goals; two late in the final quarter. Milne rarely touched the ball on the night, but his opportunist instincts were vital in a game that, at times, neither side looked keen to win.

Ugly as the Saints' win was — their first quarter must rank among the worst of the season — it was meritorious for its persistence and mental steel, especially after the Kangaroos were controversially gifted a goal via an interchange indiscretion. In the 14th minute of the last quarter, Luke Ball was sprung creeping outside the interchange box as Andrew McQualter came from the field. The Saints had just hit the front for the first time in the match and were deep in attack.

Daniel Harris kicked a goal from the resulting free at the other end to put the Roos back in front, but the Saints refused to wilt, with Leigh Montagna and Milne eventually getting the Saints home.

For North Melbourne, it was a devastating loss. After opening up a five-goal lead early in the second quarter and St Kilda struggling to find any rhythm, it was the Kangaroos who slowed and eventually stopped to a walk.

They had dominated possession in a dreadful opening stanza, but it wasn't until the 17th minute that the first goal of the game was slotted, courtesy of an awful error by Ball on the Saints' defensive 50.

Three further goals followed in a flurry for the Kangaroos, with Ball's mistake topped by Nick Riewoldt, whose slip in the goal square allowed Matt Campbell to swoop. It summed up an appalling start by the Saints, who were held to just three behinds.

With Riewoldt playing on the wing and Justin Koschitzke being slaughtered by Josh Gibson, the Saints were left with few options inside 50, on the few occasions they didn't turn the ball over getting there.

Fans could have been forgiven for writing St Kilda off from there, but North caught its opponent's disease in the second quarter as the hitherto flat Saints abandoned their ultra-defensive approach and began to open the game up.

Riewoldt, in particular, lifted his game, and took his team with him, after being repatriated to centre half-forward. Working tirelessly up the ground, the captain was instrumental in setting up St Kilda's first goal to Milne and kicking another himself. Two more majors to David Armitage and Robert Eddy had the Saints back within nine points late in the second quarter.

Only the busy Campbell, who opened and closed the quarter with goals, maintained the Kangaroos' ascendancy on the scoreboard.

Campbell aside, it was the old firm of Brent Harvey, Adam Simpson and Shannon Grant who kept North from imploding. With Nathan Thompson and Corey Jones impotent up forward, North was overly dependent upon its small men.

By the third quarter, both sides had dragged themselves down to a similar level of mediocrity. Three of the four goals for the quarter were opportunist snaps, while both sides traded away easier opportunities: the Saints to take control of the contest; the Kangaroos to win it.

In the end, it was the Saints who seized what the Kangaroos could not.

ST KILDA 0.3 4.3 6.7 12.12 (84)
NORTH MELBOURNE 4.4 6.7 8.11 9.15 (69)

GOALS St Kilda: Milne 4, Koschitzke 2, Riewoldt, Armitage, Eddy, Fisher, King, Montagna. North Melbourne: Campbell 3, Harvey, Petrie, Hale, Harding, Wells, Harris.

BEST St Kilda: Montagna, Riewoldt, Ball, Hudghton, Harvey, Gram. North Melbourne: Harvey, Simpson, Grant, Campbell, Gibson, Wells.

UMPIRES McInerney, Sully, James.

CROWD 9128 at Gold Coast Stadium, Carrara.

THE UPSHOT The Saints' finals prospects are alive, although on the evidence of this poor spectacle few would back them to go far in September. For North, this dispiriting loss has the potential to knock the stuffing out of its campaign.

TALKING POINT The interchange rule is right back in the spotlight after the Saints were caught out with Luke Ball stepping outside the interchange box as Andrew McQualter was coming off. The resulting goal almost turned a tight contest with all the momentum running with the Saints.

HOT AND COLD Two small forwards told the tale of this night. For the first half, it was Matt Campbell who set the Kangaroos alight with three clever goals; in the second, the hitherto almost unsighted Stephen Milne took every half-chance for the Saints as Campbell faded.