St Kilda have reminded the rest of the competition they're still a force to be reckoned with through a 21-point win over West Coast at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
In a topsy-turvy match where the Saints led by as many as 43 points, they were forced to come from behind at the final change before holding off the Eagles in a 13.4 (82) to 9.7 (61) result.
The game was right in the balance when the Eagles kicked the only four goals of the third term to take a two-point lead into the last quarter.
Stephen Milne had the Saints back in front with the opening goal from a set shot, but a moment of brilliance from Nic Naitanui, when he roved his own ruck work before nailing a difficult snap, had the Eagles in front once again.
It didn't last long though, as Sean Dempster kicked a brilliant snap of his own to put the Saints up by four once again.
The key moment came in the 22nd minute when West Coast defender Eric Mackenzie kicked the ball straight to Leigh Montagna, who marked and goaled.
More defensive errors from the Eagles enabled the Saints to boot another two in an encounter where the final score of 13.4 (82) to 9.7 (61) didn't reflect just how close the game was.
The beaten grand finalists of the past two years are still out of the eight, but have now won six of the past eight matches, with their only two losses coming against competition front runners Collingwood and Geelong.
Montagna was by far the best player on the ground with 34 touches and four scoring assists, while Brendon Goddard (30), Jason Gram (31) and Sam Fisher (26) also saw plenty of ball off the half-back line.
Milne booted three goals up forward, while Justin Koschitzke, who was a somewhat controversial late inclusion after originally not being named as one of the three emergencies, kicked two along with Ryan Gamble.
The Eagles failed to produce the kind of intensity that saw them win their past five matches and soar into top-four calculations. They will remain in fifth place, but could have been up to fourth following Carlton's loss to the Magpies earlier in the day.
Dean Cox and Naitanui dominated the ruck with a combined 53 hitouts to 16 from the Saints' big men, while Cox also gathered 22 touches in a fine performance.
Ball-magnet Matt Priddis continued his great season with another 27 touches, while youngster Andrew Gaff played the best game of his short career with 21 possessions and two goals.
Perhaps the death of their only premiership coach Allan Jeans sparked the Saints at the start of the game as they piled on six goals to none in the opening term.
Milne got the ball rolling with a nice set shot, before Raph Clarke drifted forward to kick truly from just inside the 50.
Koschitzke proved his worth to the team with two goals inside two minutes before Jack Steven made it five straight with a nice finish on the run.
Everything was going St Kilda's way and when Nick Riewoldt kicked into the man on the mark and the ball fell to Gamble, who snapped their sixth of the term, it looked like it was going to be their night.
Montagna was instrumental in the blitz with an amazing 16 possessions and two score assists.
West Coast tried to rough him up at the opening bounce of the second term, but it only resulted in a downfield free kick and another goal to Gamble.
The Eagles finally managed their first goal nine minutes into the second term and threatened to make a game of it with another two more as they closed to within 26 points at the main break.
The visitors carried that momentum into the second-half with Gaff and Mark Nicoski kicking two early goals.
Suddenly the tide had completely turned and the Saints' cause wasn't helped by what appears to be a serious knee injury to defender James Gwilt, who left the field on a stretcher following a heavy, fair bump from Mackenzie.
The Eagles hit the front on the back of goals from Josh Kennedy and Quinten Lynch as the Saints failed to score in a quarter for the second time in the past three weeks, setting the stage for a thrilling final term.
ST KILDA: 6.1, 8.4, 8.4, 13.4 (82)
WEST COAST: 0.1, 4.2, 8.6, 9.7 (61)
GOALS: St Kilda: Milne 3, Koschitzke 2, Gamble 2, Clarke, Steven, Dempster, Montagna, Peake, Armitage
West Coast: Gaff 2, Nicoski 2, Ebert, Shuey, Kennedy, Naitanui
BEST: St Kilda: Montagna, Goddard, Gram, Milne, Fisher, Clarke
West Coast: Cox, Gaff, Naitanui, LeCras, Priddis
INJURIES: St Kilda: Gwilt (knee)
West Coast: Nil
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Tom Lynch replaced in St Kilda's selected side by Justin Koschitzke
UMPIRES: Vozzo, Farmer, Stewart
CROWD: 31,416 at Etihad Stadium