Western Bulldogs hold off late charge by St Kilda | photos, video

The last Bulldogs-St Kilda clash, all of seven weeks ago, was famously a game of two halves. This, in contrast, was a game of four quarters, none asked, none given.

In a match as honestly contested as any this year, without a tagger in scragging sight, the Bulldogs prevailed by a matter of seconds, a slice of not ill-deserved luck and six points.

Argued to a nicety, the result reflected the standings of these developing  teams this season. The Bulldogs had not been expected to win many matches this season, but have still won more than they have lost, by big margins and small, against the great and the not-so-great.

St Kilda, expected perhaps to win no games, but were desperately close this night to making it five, in half a season. They lost no friends or admirers.

One burst made all the difference, the four goals the Bulldogs kicked in the first 15 minutes of the third quarter. By the mercurial standards of their previous meeting, it was really no more than a forceful trickle, but on a night when St Kilda's goals came at 20-minute intervals on average, it would prove enough.

But the Saints will dwell on some errant kicking at goal, and on what might have been if Jack Lonie's kick off the ground in the goal square with minutes to play had not hit the post. As it was, the goal umpire was about to signal a goal, but a review confirmed what the Bulldogs, to their relief, had seen. The margin was kept at seven points, not two.

The first half, as might have been expected between two developing teams, was modern football theory 101. Each side set up a well-manned and sophisticated defensive zone, and the other tried to think their way through it. But while the players were fresh, and the tackle pressure high at each end, neither could quite nail it. The outcome was a single goal apiece in the first quarter, both originating from turnovers. In such an intricate contest, dwelling on mistakes works as well as any other method.

It would be so all night. Rusty Sam Gilbert would pay dearly, twice.

There was plenty of perspiration, less inspiration, though there was a moment of inspired desperation when Jack Stevens' 40-metre, boundary-hugging kick off the ground hit the leading Lonie on the chest.

Nick Riewoldt, as per his career-long ethic, chased what looked a lost cause to the goal line and flipped it back for Minchington to goal. Riewoldt, as so often before, roused himself again almost to match-winning heights in the last quarter.

St Kilda worked harder, which would have pleased Alan Richardson, but for no pronounced advantage, which would have gratified Luke Beveridge. The Saints denied the Bulldogs fluency, but in their turn lacked poise, and looked like burning themselves out for minimal gain. Theirs is a draining way to play.

They beat the Bulldogs for contested possession, belying the records of both teams this year. Their pressure was relentless, but too often they were forced into unavailing pockets. When Gilbert miskicked out of a back pocket directly to Jarrad Grant in front of the Bulldogs' goal, the teams were bound to go to half-time square except for small change.

The Bulldogs made their break in the third quarter. After Josh Bruce crumbed himself to goal inside 30 seconds, the Bulldogs kicked four in a row. The key was dash out of defence, and the key to that was the ageless captain, Robert Murphy, who literally made every possession count; for most of the match, he was then running at 100 per cent. Here the Saints missed a trick, letting him roam free.

Four kicks ahead midway through the last quarter, the deal seemed done for the Dogs. But, defying physiology, the Saints came again, with goals for Riewoldt and Bruce.

But in the end as in the beginning, they did not quite have the composure. The crucial figure in the last few minutes was Easton Wood and his safe hands. But the hands that brought the greatest relief to the Dogs were the umpires', raised to signal the final siren.