St Kilda has pulled off a miraculous final quarter comeback at Metricon Stadium, overcoming a 31-point three-quarter time deficit to edge out Gold Coast by two points .
A win from both sides was nothing short of crucial following their deplorable performances from last week, yet the Saints emerged victorious 11.12 (78) to 11.14 (80) thanks to a last-minute goal from Jade Gresham.
With both Stuart Dew and Alan Richardson under the pump over the performance of their respective sides, the Saints will be safe for another week, while the blowtorch continues to burn on the struggling Suns, who were again kept goalless in the final term.
Seb Ross (33 touches), Jack Steven (28) and David Armitage (25) triumphed for St Kilda through the midfield, while third-gamer Josh Battle was effective up forward with three goals.
The victory was even better for the Saints, who lost Jimmy Webster and Bailey Rice to injury, and played out the final term with just two men on the bench.
Contrary to their woeful performances last week, both the Suns and Saints put together a sound opening quarter, with the 4.2 to 3.2 scoreboard reflecting a marked improvement after a dismal displays last Saturday.
Nevertheless St Kilda were hit with an early blow, with star defender Webster ruled out of the game with a groin complaint..
With one of their key backmen down, the Suns got on the board first through Ben Ainsworth, before his young counterpart in Battle carried on fine form with a classy left-foot snap.
The goals kept flowing early on, as Tom Lynch kicked his 250th league goal after being held goalless against Greater Western Sydney, before Alex Sexton kicked true to put the Suns up by 11 points.
Despite being relatively solid with ball in hand - a far departure from their abysmal form of last week - the Suns' clearance numbers were once again an area of concern.
Trailing the disposal count 67-116 and the clearances 2-16, the Suns were fortunate the margin didn't spiral out of control as the Saints began to show spark with goals to Jack Newnes and Paddy McCartin.
Fluid out the back of the clearances and racking up uncontested ball at will, the visitors clawed their way in front by a point, despite being absent of any zip or spark.
A last-gasp major from Nick Holman however gave Gold Coast a six-point advantage at quarter-time, with St Kilda expected to fire back and level the playing field going into the next stage of the game.
But the Saints failed to respond in the second quarter, with the Suns booting five unanswered majors before the visitors pegged one back in the final minutes of the term.
A crafty Sean Lemmens banana put the Suns on the board early, before Lynch quickly made it two goals going into the breeze thanks to some manic pressure from Aaron Young.
Humiliation quickly befell the Saints as both Sexton and Lynch became multiple goalscorers and opened up a handy five-goal buffer after 10 minutes of play, as the Saints struggled to apply any such pressure on the speedy Suns.
St Kilda continued to dominate the clearances (8-24), yet failed to register any majors for the first 20 minutes of the quarter - an ailment which was primarily self-afflicted thanks to their haphazard long bombs forward to outnumbered contests.
The Suns meanwhile belted the Saints where it mattered, as Callum Ah Chee took the margin to a game-high 36 points with Gold Coast's sixth consecutive goal.
As the home side continued to further their lead, panic and frustration began to seep into the Saints' game play, as Gold Coast continued to swarm on their slackening opposition.
Gresham finally snapped the Suns' streak to give the visitors some much-needed reprieve, yet still trailed by a telling 31 points at half-time.
Although the Suns' scoring dried up in the third term, St Kilda failed to turn it around with minimal improvement from their lacklustre second quarter.
There were danger signs early on for the Saints, as the Suns won their first centre clearance for the game while Lynch lined up for a shot on goal after just a minute of play.
With the World Cup a clear influence, Touk Miller's kick off the ground cannoned into the upright, before Battle showed off some of his own footwork to give St Kilda a handy major.
But any chance of a slight resurgence was nullified with Sexton's third straight goal, as the frustration became apparent after Ainsworth and Nathan Brown became involved in a skirmish in the middle of the ground.
Tempers only flared after Rice was stretchered off the field following an accidental head knock, yet the Suns turned the Saints' anger into sheer dejection as Holman threaded through an incredible dribbler from the pocket.
A Tim Membrey major and a committed rundown tackle from Gresham restored some faith, yet the Suns ended the term in control with a 31-point lead at three-quarter time.
But against all odds, the Saints managed to turn the game around, booting five unanswered goals against the startled Suns to run out as narrow two-point winners.
Battle slotted his third straight goal of the afternoon to bring the margin to just 25 points, as the Suns began to shut up shop and to lessen their intensity.
As St Kilda registered repeat entries and harassed the Suns around the ball, a stunning banana from McCartin breathed some life back into the Saints, who trailed by just 17 points with 10 minutes left to play.
With the game turned on its head and the Suns beginning to panic, the Saints' solid patch continued and as Membrey slotted his second just moments later, the margin was sliced to just 11 points.
As the Suns became increasingly sloppy and undisciplined in their tack on the ball, St Kilda continued to mount pressure on their struggling opposition, with Daniel McKenzie drilling the ball through the big sticks to bring the margin back to single figures.
A crucial shot on goal moments lagter from Maverick Weller shied away to the left with just two minutes left on the clock, and the Suns breathed a welcome sigh of relief.
But a fantastic Gresham snap with less a minute left on the clock put the Saints up by two points, leaving the Saints ecstatic and the Suns dejected as the clock ticked down and the visitors secured their second win of the season.
Gold Coast will once again be away from home when they face Hawthorn at UTAS Stadium on Saturday afternoon, while St Kilda will have an opportunity to refocus and prepare for a respectable second half of the season with their bye scheduled for next week.
GOLD COAST 4.2 9.7 11.12 11.12 (78)
ST KILDA 3.2 4.6 6.11 11.14 (80)
GOALS
Gold Coast: Lynch 3, Sexton 2, Holman 2, Ah Chee, Ainsworth, Lemmens
St Kilda: Battle 3, Gresham 2, Membrey 2, McCartin 2, Newnes, McKenzie
BEST
Gold Coast: Lynch, Weller, Sexton, Lyons, Harbrow, Swallow
St Kilda: Armitage, Ross, Battle, Steven, Gresham, Membrey
INJURIES
Gold Coast: Nil
St Kilda: Webster (groin), Rice (concussion)
TALKING POINTS
1. SAINTS STEAL THE WIN WITH GRESHAM GOLD
It looked to be all doom and gloom for St Kilda as they took to three-quarter time with a telling 31-point deficit and little to no chance of showing some fight after a sloppy performance for most of the day.
But in what came as a total surprise, the Saints worked their way back into the game, booting five unanswered goals to clinch their second victory of the season - their first since round one against Brisbane.
Almost unbelievably, the Saints slowly clawed their way back into the contest and with one remarkable Daniel McKenzie goal from the back of a stoppage found themselves less just five points behind,
Yet the Saints saved best for last, with Jade Gresham pouncing upon the ball with a minute left on the clock and slotted through a brilliant goal in the pocket.
The pressure is off the Saints for at least another week.
2. GOLD COAST'S FINAL QUARTER FARCE
The final quarter concerns of Gold Coast looked destined to come to an end following a victory over St Kilda, yet their performance in the final 30 minutes of play was absolutely terrible.
Over the space of four weeks, the Suns have scored just two behinds, with two of the four matches seeing them scoreless in the last term.
Conversely, their opposition teams have scored a combined 15 goals in the final quarter.
It's just another area the Suns need to address, and one which needs to be rectified fast to save them from even more embarrassment.
3. RETURNING VFL STARS HAVE BIG IMPACTS
St Kilda made four changes going into this week, with three of the four being recalls from the Sandringham Zebras.
After extended stints in the VFL, David Armitage and Billy Longer were each pivotal in St Kilda's second win of the season and were among the Saints' best on the day.
Armitage closed his afternoon with 25 touches and four tackles, with his intensity around the stoppages crucial in preventing Gold Coast from gaining dominance around the contest.
Longer meanwhile - although losing the final hit-out count 40-33 - was solid around the ground all day, and was instrumental in St Kilda's last-gasp goal as his perfect tap found Jade Gresham who duly converted.
Heavily criticised for his minimal season, Billings put together his best game of the season with 27 touches - eight of which were gathered in the final term.
Some handy inclusions which should see the out-of-form Saints remain in the side after the bye.
4. ST KILDA MIDFIELD SMACK SUNS
It's a staggering statistic, yet one which does little to reflect the final margin of just two points.
St Kilda registered 53 clearances for the game opposed the Gold Coast's 23, with the Saints besting the Suns 5-18 in the centre clearances and the stoppages 17-35.
Time after time, the Saints continued to win the ball through the middle of the ground, going out the back before launching the ball forward.
Yet St Kilda struggled to make their 58 entries inside 50 count, achieving just the 25 scoring shots for the entire game.
Despite their dominance, the precision and quality of entries inside 50 is an area which will need to addressed, particularly against sides with less injury-riddled defences.
5. SUNS' HORROR RUN CONTINUES
It's now seven straight losses for the Suns, who have yet to register a win since round five.
Today's performance against St Kilda should have snapped their six-game losing streak, yet a final quarter fade-out prevented any such chance of going 4-8.
With Hawthorn, Collingwood and North Melbourne to come over the next three weeks, the situation up north could turn even uglier.
Today marks the third consecutive week where just three Suns have managed to rack up more than 20 disposals and with a trio of formidable midfields to come, it looks like that streak may just continue.
The Suns' run is quickly becoming a nightmare.
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