Greater Western Sydney has escaped with a draw against a spirited St Kilda outfit, with neither side able to yield a result in the dying stages of the game, finishing at 73 points apiece.
Expected to be put away early in the piece due to their previous lacklustre month, the Saints defied expectations with a daring brand of football catching the Giants off-guard.
Keeping pace with the Giants for majority of the game, St Kilda clawed their way back in the final quarter to give themselves a chance of a late steal, yet a score to put them in the lead proved to be elusive.
Jake Carlisle had an opportunity to clinch a win, yet was unable to clunk a mark 35m out from goal in the dying seconds of the game, leaving both sides gutted after the gruelling game produced no definitive winner.
The dynamic Jade Gresham opened proceedings in the opening minutes of the first term; his major stemming from a smooth defensive rebound and emphasising a sense of team cohesion which had been sorely missed.
Jeremy Cameron replied with the Giants' maiden goal of the match soon thereafter and was quickly followed up by Ryan Griffen, but it was the Saints who edged out the ladder leaders in the opening stanza through their determination.
Deliberate with their ball use and armed with a newfound spirit, St Kilda kept the Giants at bay and brought themselves within a single straight kick after Hunter Clark slotted his first of the day.
Bodies were on the line as young defender Brandon White was taken from the ground with the blood rule, before Jack Newnes suffered a massive head knock which ruled him out of the game with concussion.
GWS too had their own injury concerns with Nick Haynes hurting his knee, and although returning to the field, Haynes was close to ineffectual for the rest of the game.
The enormous effort from the valiant Saints saw them trail by just three points at quarter-time, yet there lingered the question of whether they would be able to maintain their newfound pressure.
The mystery was solved early, with the Saints refusing to relent moving into the second, with Jack Steven again utilising his blistering pace around the contest to drive St Kilda forward.
Shane Savage showed his class, outmanoeuvring several opponents and lowering his eyes to find Billings in the forward 50.
Yet St Kilda - or the Giants for that matter - where unable to assert themselves on the contest through their initial inaccuracy, keeping the door ajar for either side.
The Giants eventually opened proceedings, with a smooth transition out of their back half giving Griffen his second major at the six-minute mark of the term.
Although expected to falter, the Saints continued their bold press forward and caught the Giants on the back foot through their aggression around the stoppages and subsequent entries into the 50, which they led 34-21 by the end of the half.
It wasn't until Paddy McCartin slotted a tight goal where the Saints' hard work was finally rewarded, with the Giants holding on to the lead by a single point.
The fluidity and dare of the Saints was close to unrecognisable from their previous weeks, with a seamless and gutsy transition from defence up the centre of the ground giving McCartin his second, after the big forward pushed off Phil Davis and put the Saints in front from outside 50.
St Kilda's momentum and confidence was quickly bolstered as Luke Dunstan kicked a remarkable goal from outside the 50 to extend their margin to 10 points.
Their confidence began to show around the ground, with the Saints' defence proving to be damaging, with White amassing five rebounds from the defensive 50, Nick Coffield seamless with his intercept play and Carlisle effective down back as the loose man.
Although on top in the midfield and dangerous through their frequent intercepts, the Saints were unable to put away GWS in the half; a late major to Cameron helping to steady the ship and put the Giants five points behind at the major change.
Yet GWS managed to wrangle the momentum back their way in the third quarter despite their inaccuracy, kicking 3.6 opposed to the Saints' 1.4.
The Giants choked in front of goal early on, with a major proving to be elusive after two consecutive minor scores failed to put them back in front.
The class of Brett Deledio ultimately persevered, with a skilful snap around the body from the back of a stoppage at last giving the Giants a reprieve, and most importantly, the lead.
Majors on the run to Toby Greene and Dylan Shiel on either flank made it four in a row for GWS, with fears of a St Kilda collapse imminent as the Giants exuded superior polish and flair.
But Steven was once again the hero for St Kilda, bursting through a stoppage in his characteristic style and jagging a much-needed major through the big sticks.
Kicking at goal for the Saints ultimately let them down in the third, with a 30 per cent conversion rate from 49 inside 50s preventing them from creeping their way back in front.
Let off the hook in the final minutes, St Kilda escaped with just a nine-point deficit - the chance to snatch the game still a definite possibility.
Jonathon Patton scored the first major of the term to strech the Giants' lead, before Jack Billings finally broke his duck with a skliful snap around the body minutes later.
Although Deledio struck back with his second goal following a dynamic centre clearance from the Giants, Maverick Weller kept the Saints' hopes alive with one of his own.
With their desperation evident, the Saints clawed another back through a spectacular goal to the young Ben Long, after the youngster ran around Phil Davis to spark the Saints' imagination.
The margin resting at just a single straight kick with only a few minutes of play remaining, the Saints' dream was alive.
A behind to Greene prevented the scores from being tied up initially as McCartin slotted his third through to make it a one-point ball game.
With an opportunity to put the Saints in the lead, a running Gresham narrowly missed, levelling the scores with only minutes left on the clock - St Kilda's desperation more prominent than ever.
One final opportunity for St Kilda came in the form of Carlisle, after Steven burst through the centre and speared a pass to the former Bomber 35 out from goal.
A second of play seemed to go in slow-motion for St Kilda fans as Carlisle leapt for the ball and extended his arms to meet it.
Any score would do, but Carlisle was unable to clunk the mark on the first attempt, with Davis coming in to prevent a second grab.
Whether or not Davis' spoil should have been deemed as high contact remains to be confirmed as a missed call by the umpires.
As the ball spilled to ground, time ultimately prevailed as the ultimate victor, with both sides finishing up with 73 points apiece - the Saints and Giants visibly gutted by the lack of result.
Inspired by their performance against the ladder leaders, St Kilda will take their efforts in good stead as they come up against Hawthorn on Saturday night.
Greater Western Sydney meanwhile will be hoping to make amends as they face off the prospective Brisbane at home.
ST KILDA 2.2 5.8 6.12 10.13 (73)
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 2.5 4.9 7.15 9.19 (73)
GOALS
St Kilda: McCartin 3, Dunstan, Clark, Gresham, Long, Billings, Weller, Steven
Greater Western Sydney: Deledio 2, Griffin 2, Cameron, Shiel, Patton, Greene
BEST
St Kilda: Steven, Sinclair, Dunstan, McCartin, Ross, Acres, White, Hickey
Greater Western Sydney: Ward, Cameron, Deledio, Shiel, Davis
INJURIES
St Kilda: Newnes (concussion)
Greater Western Sydney: Haynes (knee)
TALKING POINTS
1. THOSE FINAL SECONDS...
One of the most tantalising finishes to a game of football, and one which will be hotly debated upon by supporters due to its final outcome.
Winning the ball at centre wing with just seconds left on the clock, Jack Steven put on the afterburners, sprinted down the wing and fired the ball into the 50 with Jake Carlisle the target.
35m out, Carlisle needed only a mark and register any score to gift the Saints with their second win of the season.
But a juggled first attempt and a subsequent Phil Davis spoil soured the Saints' chances of a miracle win as the siren sounded just seconds later.
Who was accountable for the result in the final moments will be contested considerably.
Did Steven's kick have too much pepper on it? Should Carlisle have marked the ball regardless? Was Davis' contact worthy of a free kick? Did the umpires even see it?
Davis' arm around Carlisle's neck to St Kilda fans screams "free kick", yet the umpires were ultimately caught out of position and were not at the angle to see the arm slip over the Saint's head.
It will be interesting to hear whether they think they got the call wrong in retrospect - a decision which may have cost the Saints the game.
2. SAINTS SHOW SIGNS OF PROMISE
Hold your head high, Saints.
With their backs against the wall and a wave of condemnation befalling them over their previous month of football, St Kilda found the response they were so desperately craving, although they were unable to secure the four points in the end.
Aggressive, daring and cohesive for four quarters of football, the Saints brought their A-game against the Giants, keeping up with the ladder leaders around the clearances for the entirety of proceedings.
Smashing the inside 50 count 67-47, the Saints were far more dangerous up forward, but were again left to rue their missed opportunities with a final score of 10.13.
Armed with an unseen hunger for the ball and fierceness at the contests, the output of the Saints was nothing short of commendable.
Fans will be asking where this form has been over the past four weeks, especially having come up against (arguably) much weaker oppositions.
There's no doubt St Kilda deserved to win given their efforts, but in the end it simply wasn't to be.
3. BIG PADDY SHINES
After copping a fair deal of criticism over the past month, including negative reception from his own supporter base, Paddy McCartin silenced his critics with a crucial three goals.
An ominous presence up forward, McCartin was the target up forward for St Kilda given the absence of Josh Bruce, with the Saints hitting up the big man 13 times inside 50.
Despite taking only two marks inside 50, the 22-year-old showed his sheer strength and monstrous potential against the AFL's best side.
With fellow forward Tim Membrey exceptionally quiet in his return game, McCartin undoubtedly saved the Saints from a fourth straight loss thanks to his three-goal haul.
Keep it going, Paddy.
4. DYLAN DISAPPEARS
In the final ten minutes of the game, there were two St Kilda goals kicked.
So why on earth was Dylan Shiel still on the bench when there were two clear opportunities for him to come back onto the field?
Shiel was left to stroll the sidelines, unable to return to the ground with play stranded on the opposite side of the ground.
We'll never know why Shiel was stranded for so long; whether it be a miscommunication between the coaches and staff who run the interchange bench, a failure to get the message out or the Giants not realising their best player was still in the interchange gates, it never should have happened.
You can't rest the fate of the game on one player, but given his dominant performance in which he finished with 23 disposals, three clearances and a goal, his influence may have been just enough to register a score and clinch a win for the Giants.
5. CAMERON GIVES ACRES THE BOOT... OR NOT
As well as drama and excitement, the clash between the Saints and Giants also brought humour.
With the ball deep in their attacking half of the ground, Jeremy Cameron conceded a free kick against Blake Acres in the closing seconds of the second term.
Acres' boot - which fallen off in the contest - was picked up by Cameron and tossed to the boundary line, rewarding the Saints with a much-needed reprieve and 50m penalty.
While it didn't gift the Saints a score, Cameron would still have had quite a bit of explaining to do at half-time to coach Leon Cameron.
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