YOUNG Queenslander David Armitage provided a genuine spark for St Kilda at all the right times in their stunning win over North Melbourne last night, and remained cool in the crisis of the big interchange penalty in the final quarter.

Playing his first premiership match in his home state after being omitted for the Lions game at the Gabba earlier in the year, Armitage gathered 15 possessions coming off the bench, including four hard-ball gets, and made a critical centre break in the last quarter.

The just-turned-20-year-old spent much of the final quarter on the ball as the Saints booted six goals to one to win 12.12 (84) to 9.15 (69), and was unfazed by the interchange penalty that cost his side the lead 13 minutes into the term.

“No we didn’t realise [what was happening] at the start,” Armitage said of the interchange transgression by teammate Luke Ball. “Everyone was looking around going, ‘What’s going on, is there a blood rule or something?’.

“But then the umpires got together and said it was the interchange, so the ball goes back to the centre and then 50m.

“We were just getting around saying, ‘Chin up, heads up, just put the work boots on and get to work’. It didn’t really affect us.”

With Leigh Montagna and Ball providing the midfield with a lift through the middle stages of the game, it was important for the Saints that they didn’t suffer when the duo were rested on the bench.

Armitage made sure that didn’t happen, making a strong intercept in the first quarter, and having a busy 10 minutes in the second during the Saints' four-goal spree in which he booted one himself, and winning his share of contested ball.

“I was happy with my game, I ran hard and ran to space,” he said. “When it was there to be won, I won it, so that was alright.”

“I hadn’t played the Lions game and the other interstater we had. I wanted to get back up here, and just wanted to have a real crack, and so did all the boys.”

Armitage was full of praise for his teammates.

“Overall it was just a great team effort. It was probably our best win all year. To come back from 33 points down was really good. It was a gallant win the end.”

He added that his mates did not get discouraged despite a horrible start where they made a number of poor skills errors and moved the ball at snail’s pace.

“We were just slipping down the line and that’s what cost us - we were meant to take it in the corridor and kick it long to one-on-one contests with ‘Rooey’ and ‘Kossie’ down there, but we didn’t. We just slipped down the line and they picked us off.

“We got the message from Ross just to take them on and come through the middle and hit them up. That’s what we did in the end. We did it for the next three quarters.”

Skipper Nick Riewoldt’s gut-busting runs were critical in the second quarter comeback, and Armitage said it was not hard to get inspired by the deeds of the former Gold Coaster.

“It always does, that kind of stuff from the leaders down, everyone was doing it. As soon as Nick does it everyone follows his actions and it just lifts the whole team,” he said.

Last night was just the 11th game in the senior career of Armitage, who grew up in the rugby league stronghold of Mackay in central Queensland, played for Morningside in an AFLQ grand final as a 17-year-old, and spent his last 12 months in Brisbane working at the Lions’ merchandise shop as a Sportsready trainee.

“You learn something every day when you walk into the club,” he said of the environment at St Kilda “If it’s not Harves or Maxy, it’s the coaching staff.

“We’ve got a great coaching panel who have been through a lot, know what’s going on, and can really help you and influence what you do.”

Armitage will make his second trip north in four days when he heads for the winter sun in Mackay with the Saints having a bye for the split round next week.

“We’ve got a superclinic back in Melbourne on Tuesday, then I’m going to head back up to Mackay to see the family. They couldn’t make it down for this game,” he said. “I’m looking forward to going and seeing them for a couple of days.”

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.