IT WAS no coincidence that St Kilda youngster Tom Curren produced the best performance of his short AFL career as three of his teammates played their last games.

Curren had been determined to pay tribute to retiring trio Stephen Milne, Justin Koschitzke and Jason Blake by playing his part in a strong effort against third-placed Fremantle.

Both Curren and the Saints exceeded the expectations of many, with the 21-year-old being among his team's best in a 71-point win over the depleted Dockers in their final-round clash at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

In just his seventh AFL game, Curren amassed a career-best 26 disposals, including 12 in the first term. He helped set the tone for the Saints, being the most prolific player afield in the opening 20 minutes.

Curren said he had made an extra effort to honour the retirees with a worthy performance.

"I told 'Milney' before the game, 'mate, I'm going to give it everything I've got for you.' All the other boys did the same and that's why we were able to give them such a good send-off," he told AFL.com.au.

Curren says he has adopted a philosophy passed on to him by Koschitzke.

"I played a few games with 'Kosi' in the VFL this year and he told me, 'Just keep working hard and playing the game out to the last second, regardless of whether you’re up by 100 points or down by 100 points, because you never know who's watching.' That's the part of the legacy he's left me, and I'm doing my best to live up to that," he said.

"It's been an absolute privilege to play with all of them for their knowledge and passion, and I'm honoured to have the opportunity to learn from them.

"Kosi's a country lad, Blakey's a city boy, and Milney's just Milney, so they've got different ideas, opinions, thoughts. All great fellas," Curren said.

Saints coach Scott Watters said post-match he was proud that his players overcame an "emotional burden".

"We took a breath in the pre-game. You could sense that there was a lot of emotion in the room, a lot of nervousness," he said.

"I spoke to Jarryn Geary pre-game and he said it’s the most nervous that he's been for a long time … everyone was pretty edgy."

Watters said the trio of retirees would "leave a significant vacuum at the club". He hopes other players will fill the void but accepts that it will take time.

"What will I miss?" Watters pondered. "Blakey's honesty. Not just in the way that he plays, but I've had some conversations along the way where he tells me exactly where things are at, areas he wants me to focus on. He's always been really forthright, and I've really respected that.

"Kosi? The boys love him. He's passionate about the way he goes about it. He loves playing with his mates … and we want to foster that (mateship) as a club.

"And Milney? He just fills the air. You walk down a hallway and it's his voice you hear shrieking from the changerooms or out in the warm-up. On a blowy day at Seaford he's the spark.

"The door will always be open for them."

Sitting alongside his coach, Blake summed up the feelings of many when he said: "It was a bit of a fairytale, wasn't it?"