The early stages of the game belonged to the Saints but West Coast, led by ruckman Dean Cox and midfielders Brad Ebert and Brent Staker, turned the match around midway through the second quarter to eventually run out winners, 15.13 (103) to 12.14 (86).
After leading by a solitary point at half time, St Kilda begun the third term brightly, with goals to Luke Ball and David Armitage taking the Saints out to a two-goal lead.
West Coast were missing opportunities at the other end but when multiple goalkickers Mark LeCras and Brad Ebert stopped the rot, the Eagles led for the first time in the match.
Nick Riewoldt's third, following up a wonderful run through the middle of the ground by Stephen Milne, steadied his team but a snap from an unlikely source -- Mark Seaby -- re-established West Coast's narrow two-point three-quarter time lead.
Cox critically started the final quarter on the bench, but even without their best player on the park the Eagles managed the all-important first goal of the final quarter through the dangerous LeCras.
It was time for the cream to rise and Riewoldt, with his fourth, tied the match up before Quinten Lynch thumped the air out of the ball with a 70m bomb to give the home team the lead.
Brent Staker's third goal positioned the nail on St Kilda's coffin, and Scott Selwood's first -- on the back of a 50m penalty paid against an agitated Brendon Goddard -- drove it through.
Then it was party time -- a rare occurrence in the west this season -- with LeCras and Mark Nicoski making the most of undisciplined play from the Saints.
Jason Gram, who had come back to contribute well after suffering a knee injury in the second quarter, kicked a wonderful goal in the dying stages for St Kilda. But the match, and probably a shot at a top-four finish, was already gone.
Earlier, West Coast came back into the game with a four-goal run in the second quarter after trailing by as much as 26 points in the first term. The Saints dominated the early passages, with Milne and Riewoldt in particular on fire up forward. But some inaccurate kicking and a lack of intensity let the Eagles back into the contest and two late goals cut the lead to just 14 points at quarter time.
The Saints pulled away again early in the second quarter but the Eagles midfield, led by the remarkable Cox, established dominance and with that the home team came surging back.
The four-goal run brought the Eagles back to within a single point at half time, and featured a goal of the year contender with Brent Staker's four-bounce running goal from 60m inspiring his teammates and firing up the West Coast crowd.
St Kilda had its share of injury concerns with veteran defender Max Hudghton leaving the ground in the first quarter with a calf injury. Hudghton did not return and, in the end was sorely missed.
Michael Gardiner, returning to play against his old team for the first time, had an unhappy day, dropping several marks in attack and giving away two free kicks and a 50m penalty.
West Coast 2.3 6.5 9.11 15.13 (103)
St Kilda 4.5 6.6 9.9 12.14 (86)
GOALS
West Coast: LeCras 4, Ebert 3, Staker 3, McKinley, Lynch, S. Selwood, Seaby, Nicoski,
St Kilda: Riewoldt 5, Milne 2, Goddard, Montagna, Ball, Armitage, Gram
BEST
West Coast: Ebert, Staker, LeCras, Lynch, Braun, Cox, Seaby, McNamara
St Kilda: Riewoldt, Hayes, Goddard, Fisher, Montagna, Eddy
INJURIES
West Coast: Dean Cox (cramp)
St Kilda: Max Hudghton (calf),
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Nicholls, Kamolins, Ellis
Crowd: 34,037 at Subiaco Oval
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
