NICK Riewoldt had a tough day at his office yesterday, as all high-quality forwards do when they confront Port Adelaide.

Port's coach Mark Williams employed two and three spare men in front of Riewoldt and his worthy opponent Alipate Carlile at Telstra Dome, trying to stem the growing tide created by the St Kilda captain in recent weeks.

Riewoldt knew it was coming but struggled, his teammates making the mistake of bombing the ball into the flood for much of the first half. But the Saints' on-field leader has grown immensely in the past month; he would prevail yesterday with one of the most famous moments of his career.

Twenty-one minutes into the final quarter of a titanic duel, St Kilda had edged to the front by two points, having trailed for most of the day. Another long ball was launched, and Riewoldt was out of position. The skipper sprinted back with the flight, hurled himself into the pack of four players approaching, and clutched the football to his chest. Converting his third goal, the Saints would not be headed.

"You need those acts when players take their turn," said coach Ross Lyon. "In the great Hawthorn era of the '80s, coached by (David) Parkin and (I) had some contact with (Alan) Joyce, and (Allan) Jeans, they talk about a moment in a game when someone has to go. And today our players did that. They went."

St Kilda has changed colours, and that's not because the club adopted any silly clash guernsey. The Saints, previously renowned frontrunners, have learned to gut out a win, come from behind, claw and scrape and fight to the finish line.

It happened against North Melbourne earlier this season and against Hawthorn and it happened again yesterday so that the Saints are back in the top eight, with an eye on fourth spot and a double chance. Port Adelaide, feisty and niggly if depleted by injury, came out humming, and led by as much as 21-points midway through the third quarter. The Power was inspired by the likes of Dean Brogan, who jumped hard at the centre bounces and mouthed off with as much gusto, and the gritty, little on-ballers such as Jacob Surjan and Travis Boak and Dom Cassisi, as well as the more-celebrated Kane Cornes, who was magnificent.

But five goals to two in the final quarter did it for St Kilda, whose players have pledged themselves to persist. "Never giving up is part of what we want to stand for," said Riewoldt. "It's part of the trademark. We've done it a few times this year."

It was not just the captain. Luke Ball laid 14 tackles going by the official statistics and probably a few more in reality, even though he was not finding as much of the football as he would have liked. When another high ball came into St Kilda's forward-50 zone, 27 minutes into the final term, Ball went back like a kamikaze pilot and was hit in a terrible collision by teammate Justin Koschitzke.

It might even cost Ball, who received a corked thigh, a week on the sidelines. But the football spilled to Jason Gram for a goal. A few moments earlier, he had come off the bench to make a spoil on the much taller Dean Brogan on the wing that was equally significant. "Trademark Luke Ball," was how Riewoldt described the performance.

Players such as Brendon Goddard and Koschitzke, both poor for much of the day, found a way to contribute, Goddard finding the ball in the final quarter and Koschitzke taking a pack mark for a crucial goal. Another, James Gwilt, would play what his coach regarded as his best game for the club.

St Kilda just found a way, altering its strategy at half-time after Port's numbers-back style caused problems. Long-kicking Gram (34 disposals, two goals) and Leigh Montagna (28 disposals) worked their way to superiority in the midfield battle. "At half-time, Ross said: 'Lower your eyes and run and spread a bit more, and get some more running goals'," said Montagna. "We were able to do that."

ST KILDA 4.1 7.5 9.10 14.17 (101)
PORT ADELAIDE 4.1 8.3 12.5 14.9 (93)

GOALS St Kilda: Riewoldt 3, Fiora 2, Gwilt 2, Gram 2, Harvey, Milne, Schneider, Koschitzke, Ball. Port Adelaide: Westhoff 3, Salter 2, D Motlop 2, Surjan, Brogan, Rodan, Bentley, Ebert, Boak, S Burgoyne.

BEST St Kilda: Gram, Montagna, Jones, Ball, S Fisher, Harvey, Gwilt. Port Adelaide: K Cornes, Boak, Cassisi, Brogan, Thurstans.

INJURIES: St Kilda: Ball (corked thigh). Port Adelaide: Salter (concussion).

UMPIRES Head, Keating, Vozzo.

CROWD 22,878 at Telstra Dome.

THE UPSHOT The Saints are back in the top eight and are now half a game from a top-four spot. Coach Ross Lyon said after the match that every game for St Kilda is important to win, its run home being Collingwood, Fremantle, Adelaide and Essendon.

TALKING POINT Concussion from a pinned-arm tackle. We've seen plenty of them this season and a number this weekend. In Geelong's win over Richmond, Darren Milburn wrapped up Shane Edwards and slung him face first into the ground and yesterday Robert Harvey suffered the same fate at the hands of Jacob Surjan. It's difficult to see how the danger can be avoided in a game that allows players to be tackled, but a question of "duty of care" could be posed about the slinging action when a player's arms are pinned.

HOT AND COLD When Lyon suggested after the Saints' loss to Sydney that his side needed more pace in the midfield and flagged Jason Gram as the man, or at least one of the men, to provide it, his view could not have been more prescient. Since then, Gram has been among St Kilda's best and the side has won five out of its past six.