St Kilda Coach Alan Richardson says his side’s first win over a top-eight outfit this season demonstrated the Saints arrived at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night believing they could topple ladder leaders Geelong.

Blowout losses on the road against West Coast in Round 8 and Adelaide in Round 11 had raised concerns regarding St Kilda’s confidence against the best sides in the competition, particularly outside Victoria.

But in the space of a few hours, St Kilda banked arguably the most impressive win under Richardson’s watch, instilling a shield of confidence in the process in what the third-year coach says will build belief in individuals and in the team.

“It was a win that showed the team turned up believing we could win – that’s certainly been an issue for us in recent weeks against good teams,” Richardson said in his post-match press conference on Saturday night.

“There’s a potential it’s good for the group. It builds on the message and builds on the belief in the way that we want to play.

“You hope as coaches that the players have real clarity on what it is that we want to do in defence and what it is that we want to do with the ball, irrespective of who we play.

“We acknowledge that Geelong are a really good team and some of the players that you’re going to be playing on are really good players. I think [Seb] Ross versus [Patrick] Dangerfield is a good example of that. That is almost symbolic of the way we wanted to approach the game.”

After leading by as much as 31-points in the second quarter, a six-goal third term paved the way to Geelong taking the lead early in the last quarter, before St Kilda clawed their way back from nine-points down in time on in the final term to secure a stunning upset.

St Kilda’s ability to respond several times in the last quarter, and to put a comprehensive third quarter midfield loss behind them, was what pleased Richardson most on the night.

“To be smashed in the third quarter – they kicked five in a row and had the first five shots of the last quarter - to respond a couple of times was really pleasing. That was the facet of the performance that was most pleasing,” Richardson said.

“We didn’t get knocked off our own method, there were periods where we did, but we were able to respond, stick to the plan and stick to the way we play."

Limited Edition History Book: Celebrating 50 Years 1966-2016 The Archives Edition