ST KILDA livewire Stephen Milne kicked five goals to set up 25.13 (163) to 5.5 (35) AFL win over an undermanned Greater Western Sydney at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
While both sides were missing a number of first-choice players, it was clearly the Giants who felt it most as they stagger towards the end of their debut season.
The Saints booted seven goals to two in the first term and 10.4 to 0.2 in the second to be 93 points clear by halftime.
Milne's five goals all came in the first half, including three in the second quarter, along with a spectacular mark at half-back to help set up a passage of play which led to another Saints major.
The Giants showed some fight in the third term, kicking the first goal of the quarter and keeping the Saints to just two.
For the Giants, hard-nosed young midfielder Toby Greene was again a clear standout with 34 disposals and four tackles.
Head Coach Kevin Sheedy said after the game: "We kicked a couple of goals early in the game and I thought, 'Good, the boys are up and about', and then the further the game went towards the middle of the first quarter to half-time, you could see the team's confidence just waning, and [they were] waiting and looking for someone to lift," Sheedy said.
"It's very, very difficult when you've got so many players waiting for someone to lift when normally in an AFL team that's been around for some time, you look at Roger Merrett or [Tim] Watson or [James] Hird. But it's very, very hard when you've got so many young players."
The GIANTS will play their final game of the year next Saturday at Skoda Stadium against North Melbourne.
St Kilda 7.2 17.6 19.7 25.13 (163)
Greater Western Sydney 2.1 2.3 3.5 5.5 (35)
GOALS
St Kilda: Milne 5, Milera 3, Wilkes 3, Goddard 3, Cripps 2, Montagna 2, Stanley, Newnes, Saad, Dal Santo, Ledger, McEvoy, Siposs
Greater Western Sydney: Treloar 2, Adams, Cooyou, Hampton
BEST
St Kilda: Dempster, Montagna, Geary, Siposs, Milne, Goddard, Cripps
Greater Western Sydney: Greene, Power, Adams, Haynes, Tyson
INJURIES
St Kilda: Gilbert (groin)
Greater Western Sydney: McDonald (ankle)
SUBSTITUTES
St Kilda: Lenny Hayes (rested) replaced by Seb Ross at half time
Greater Western Sydney: James McDonald (ankle) replaced by Matt Buntine at half time
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Hosking, Findlay, Mitchell
Official crowd: 17,327 at Etihad Stadium
