The Saints skipped away early but the Blues kept coming at them all night and the match ended up being decided by just nine points, 16.8 (104) to 14.11 (95).
It was their 12th straight win against Carlton in a remarkable run dating back to round 20, 2001.
The Blues lost key defender Bret Thornton to a hamstring strain before the bounce which was a body blow, given the lack of tall defenders at Carlton and the quality of St Kilda’s key forwards.
Mark Austin came into the side and while he had the height (193cm) to cover Thornton (192), he was no match in terms of experience.
And the Blues could have done with some more defensive options.
Saints captain Nick Riewoldt was in rare form with five goals in a best-on-ground performance that proved pivotal given the failure of Fevola (two second-half goals) to have any real impact for the Blues.
The Saints blew the game apart at the start with the opening five goals of the match.
Riewoldt was on fire close to goal but it was St Kilda’s tackling and harassing around the contests that was making the difference.
Lenny Hayes was fierce as was Clint Jones in his tagging role on Marc Murphy. Both Saints had four tackles each in the opening stanza and that played a huge part in their 24-point quarter-time lead.
The Blues were taking an eternity to work their way forward and St Kilda was ready to pounce when the mistakes came.
Kade Simpson gave the Blues some hope with the first goal of the second term after a free kick.
The Saints replied with two more to stretch the lead to 32 points with seven minutes to go in the half.
But then Carlton found inspiration.
Steven Browne set up one goal after an iron-fisted tackle and some bold running through the centre square, igniting his side to raise their game to the Saints’ level.
The Blues booted the last five goals and the Saints suddenly looked shaky for the first time in 2009.
Carlton cut the lead to just three points at the long break, even with Chris Judd relatively quiet and Fevola held goalless by Max Hudghton.
But as if to reprise the opening to the match, Riewoldt dominated and St Kilda booted four unanswered goals in the first half of the third quarter.
Three of them were from outside the 50m arc and the fourth was from 45m on the left foot from Brendon Goddard.
The Blues snatched back a couple of late goals but the last of them was fortuitous.
Fevola was handed a free kick and 50m penalty for an interchange bench infringement with just 11 seconds on the clock before the final change.
Luke Ball was the St Kilda culprit, running on to the field on the wrong side of the yellow interchange line.
The resulting goal – Fevola’s first of the night – cut the margin to a flattering 13 points at three-quarter time.
Fevola was the early villain in the final term, missing two shots in including a set shot from just 20m out.
To make matters worse for Carlton, Judd was sent from the field three times under the blood rule when his nose wouldn’t stop bleeding following a heavy clash with teammate Browne’s head during the third term.
A goal apiece kept the game tight and with seven minutes to go, Fevola redeemed himself with an accurate set shot from 40m.
It cut the margin to four points and the Carlton crowd sensed an upset.
Leigh Montagna got on the end of a Goddard handball and slotted a running goal from 45m to again give the Saints breathing space but it was only fleeting.
Setanta O’hAilpin, playing his best game for the Blues at centre half-forward, produced a bit of Irish magic to snap a quick reply with five minutes still left to play.
With two minutes left, Ryan Houlihan had the chance to give the Blues the lead but missed a set shot from 50m.
The restart was vital and Carlton’s zone was strong but the Saints won a contested ball at half back and rushed the ball forward.
Zac Dawson was the sole Saint inside the forward 50m arc and he shrugged off his man, marked 30m from goal and nailed the set shot to seal the game.
Carlton 3.2 9.2 11.6 14.11 (95)
St Kilda 7.2 9.5 13.7 16.8 (104)
GOALS
Carlton: Murphy 2, Bannister 2, Fevola 2, Betts 2, Garlett, Simpson, Carrazzo, Hampson, Grigg, O’hAilpin
St Kilda: Riewoldt 5, Schneider 2, Gram 2, McQualter, Koschitzke, Milne, Goddard, Dal Santo, Montagna, Dawson
BEST
Carlton: Grigg, Simpson, Gibbs, Browne, O’hAilpin,; Jamison, Carrazzo, Judd
St Kilda: Riewoldt, Montagna, Hudghton, Hayes, Dal Santo, Goddard, Jones
Injuries
Carlton: Thornton (hamstring) replaced in selected side by Mark Austin, Judd (broken nose)
St Kilda: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Vozzo, McBurney, Pannell
Crowd: 50,820 at Docklands
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The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
