LET the finger-pointing begin. It's standard practice now whenever AFL football serves up a contest as turgid as was Saturday night's snoozefest between St Kilda and Sydney.

Just who was at fault will be the question asked of the flood-riddled game that resembled more closely that first game of football played between Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College 150 years ago.

St Kilda has been through this before, last season, when it and Hawthorn managed to send thousands away from the MCG wondering whether they'd just witnessed the death of the game they love.

Even that abomination served up four more goals than the 36,000 at Telstra Dome were treated to. But this isn't just about scoring. It's about football so congested, so scrappy, that even a two-point final margin cannot redeem it.

There were claims around the coaching traps yesterday that Ross Lyon and the Saints' coaching panel "lost their bottle", protecting rather than building on their first-term lead, and getting sucked into the slog the Swans wanted.

Rival clubs are quick to label former Sydney assistant Lyon's team the "St Kilda Swans", and Saturday night won't have done much to stop the snide digs.

But Sydney comes out of Saturday night looking worse. The Swans bore opponents into submission more often than most, and this was one of their "better" efforts.

Paul Roos and his team know that first West Coast, and now Geelong, have not only been able to match their grit, but find a higher level with better rebound from defence, quicker ball movement and silkier skills.

That requires a higher gear. Does Sydney have it?

Ask Collingwood, which handled the Swans comfortably in two-home-and away games last year, then did so again in the elimination final, Sydney simply serving up more of the same.

That finals defeat was the Swans' most recent official appearance before Saturday night. That September loss prompted a fair round of obituaries. And, at Easter, it's safe to say the loss to the Saints hasn't inspired much hope of a resurrection.