It had to be Errol.

Down by one point, four minutes on the clock, the Sydney star weaved his magic.

Off the hands of Brodie Grundy, his neatly roved ball inside 50 put Sydney in front and they would ultimately win the see-sawing contest against St Kilda 14.8 (92) to 13.9 (87) under the Marvel Stadium roof on Sunday afternoon.

It was the finishing touch on a brilliant final term by Sydney, who were led by Will Hayward's two last-quarter goals and a pivotal defensive mark late to snuff out any chances of a St Kilda win.

The result has kept Sydney's faint hopes of September action alive, although the win came with a sour note when key defender Tom McCartin was ruled out of the game early in the final quarter after copping a head knock.

The Saints have their own injury concern out of the match, with small forward Dan Butler subbed out before the main break with a gruesome dislocated elbow.

All eyes were on Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera before the bounce, as he lined up in St Kilda's forward line and Swans tagger James Jordon immediately made a beeline for him.

Wanganeen-Milera (24 disposals, 721 metres gained) started as a forward for the first term, pushing way up into the contest during play and followed everywhere by the Swan. But by the second quarter, he started in the thick of it and the tag was abandoned.

There was a real sense of ebb and flow throughout the match, as momentum swung back and forth between the sides. But it all became about how efficient they could be in attack.

Early, it was Sydney. Winning the ball at stoppage and lowering the eyes going inside 50, the Swans neatly hit targets ahead of the play. Angus Sheldrick (18 disposals, one goal) was in fine form with his ball use alongside the likes of Isaac Heeney (21 disposals, six inside 50s) and Chad Warner (20, six).

But then St Kilda got a grasp on the game after the first break. Where they were forced to kick long down the line to contests early on, the Saints started to establish its damaging run-and-carry game through the corridor.

In his fifth season on the list, Max Heath made the most of his debut with a goal and a big tackle on Grundy on the highlights reel, while Max Hall (15 disposals, three goals) continued to tick over as one of the most in-form players in the game.

St Kilda's ability to create chaos amongst the pressure unsettled the Swans as they scrambled hard at the ground ball, regularly outnumbered the visitors and then spread hard to outnumber in attack.

As a result, they won the tackle count 73-67, and the contested possessions 136-125. Notably, the Saints' forward pressure was immense, finishing with 20 tackles inside 50.

Callum Wilkie's work in defence was elite, leading the line with 14 intercepts for the day.

Every time the Swans were afforded a modicum of space, however, they took full advantage. This was no more evident than a final quarter dash from Braeden Campbell that resulted in a Hayward goal to put Sydney in front with 12 minutes to play.

After being dropped earlier in the season, Jake Lloyd has made his home up forward in recent weeks and his career-best three goals for the day led the Swans, as Hayward (three goals, seven marks) had some huge moments at the death.
 
The win keeps Sydney's very faint finals hopes alive, now sitting three games plus percentage outside of the top eight, with six rounds to play.

More fears for McCartin
The concussion history for the McCartin brothers has been well-documented, with older brother Paddy forced into retirement due to repeated head knocks and younger brother Tom having a series of his own concerns. This is why, as the fourth quarter got underway, a stray hand from St Kilda debutant Max Heath connecting with McCartin's head raised serious concerns. McCartin hit the deck and laid still for a moment before coming from the field with some blood coming from his forehead. He shook his head in frustration, knowing that he would have to undergo yet another head injury assessment. He was immediately ruled out from the remainder of the game.

A moment to forget
Early in the second term, in-form ruck Brodie Grundy earned a free kick 50m from goal. Going back to line up for a set shot, the distance was clearly going to be a concern for the Swan. St Kilda's Max Heath stood the mark, and given the debutant's 204cm, Grundy expected to sidestep with ease to take some extra meterage. But Heath, known as 'Moose', wasn't having it, taking Grundy down with a neat tackle, and a host of teammates got into the Swans' ruck. In the proceeding fracas, Sydney star Isaac Heeney may have earned the attention of the Match Review Officer after going toe-to-toe with Hugo Garcia, making some high - albeit minimal - contact with a jumper punch. It's not the first time Heeney has caught attention against the Saints, with a one-game suspension last year coming against St Kilda.

A touch of chaos
Two hours before bounce down there were concerns over the roof at Marvel Stadium, with one side of the roof stalling during attempts to close it for the match. Just before gates opened, there was still a strip of sunlight splitting the field down the middle as players moved through their initial warm-ups. While there were suggestions that the game might be played with an open roof – the first time at Marvel Stadium since Sydney's 2023 round 17 clash with the Western Bulldogs – the technical glitch was solved around 90 minutes before the game was due to start. It's not the first time this year that there have been concerns with the roof, as gates were delayed ahead of Sydney's round four match against North Melbourne, causing fans to be denied entry for 40 minutes.

ST KILDA   4.0    7.4    11.8   13.9 (87)
SYDNEY   5.3    5.6    9.7   14.8 (92)

GOALS 
St Kilda: Hall 3, Sharman 2, Owens 2, Sinclair, Steele, Boxshall, Heath, Garcia, Marshall
Sydney: Lloyd 3, Hayward 3, Buller 2, McLean, Heeney, Sheldrick, Rowbottom, Gulden

BEST 
St Kilda: Wanganeen-Milera, Wilkie, Steele, Windhager, Hall
Sydney: Sheldrick, Heeney, Rowbottom, Grundy, Gulden, Warner, Hayward

INJURIES 
St Kilda: Butler (left elbow)
Sydney: McCartin (concussion)

SUBSTITUTES 
St Kilda: Hunter Clark (replaced Dan Butler at half time)
Sydney: Riley Bice (replaced Aaron Francis in the third term)

Crowd: 29,589 at Marvel Stadium