ST KILDA has suffered its third successive loss to Essendon, this time by 33 points at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.

The Bombers booted seven goals to one in a blistering opening term and led by as much as 58 points during the third quarter, before easing to a 16.12 (108) to 11.9 (75) victory.

Dustin Fletcher was a key factor for the Bombers. The AFL’s oldest player lined up in defence on St Kilda first-gamer Tom Lynch and the gap in experience showed as Fletcher floated up the ground to set up the early forward thrusts.

Essendon coach Matthew Knights was full of praise for his veteran defender after the match.

“There’s been talk about capping rotations. I don’t want to do that because if we can rotate him three times a quarter when he’s 40 years old we might be able to get him through to there,” he said.

“He is just an amazing footballer [who has] stood the test of time in the modern game. He keeps developing and evolving. He started with Lynch, went a little bit to Riewoldt. He's just awesome.”

Bachar Houli and Kyle Hardingham were lively across half-forward, while Jobe Watson put in his usual solid performance in the midfield, finishing with 30 possessions and Angus Monfries kicked four goals.

The Essendon midfield smashed St Kilda for much of the first half. With Clint Jones a late withdrawal due to an ankle injury, the Saints lacked accountability in the middle and the ball was frequently moved easily into Essendon's attacking 50.

The Saints had to try a few different things and several senior players found themselves in unfamiliar positions. Sam Fisher was ineffective in the back half and he spent time forward but still couldn’t get into it.

Brendon Goddard was thrown forward in the second term, partially to provide a target but mainly to curb Fletcher. Goddard did well and was a contributor but the Essendon veteran was still in everything.

Speaking after the game, St Kilda coach Ross Lyon was not hiding from the disappointing performance.

“I think you can exclude the last quarter, to be fair. We’re certainly not hanging our hat on that, as much as we were okay. To half time, it was pathetic, really. Three goals off 22 entries and they’d had 22 entries and kicked 9.5,” Lyon said.

“Let’s make this clear: I am not separating myself from the loss at all, or my assistants. We’re in it up to our necks with the players because we’re responsible for them being able to deliver on game day. We are in it but in the context of what was at stake and how many games there are left, it’s pretty hard to swallow.”

Sam Gilbert was also moved into the middle and showed a bit of potential as a pinch-hitting midfielder. He found a way of getting clearances and could be used in the engine room more and more as the season rolls on.

But whatever they tried, it didn’t shake the Bombers. The return of David Hille was an important factor as he allowed Paddy Ryder to float forward and Michael Hurley to play as a key backman.

The Bombers led by 58 points at one stage in the third term but the Saints came into their own in the last quarter, booting six after kicking the last two of the third quarter.

The margin could have been even closer had Saints skipper Nick Riewoldt converted more than two of his six shots at goal in another encouraging performance.

However, the late goal flurry was too little, too late as the Saints' bogey side continued its remarkable streak.

Essendon  7.2  9.5  12.10  16.12 (108)
St Kilda 1.2  3.4  5.6  11.9 (75)

GOALS
Essendon: Monfries 4, Houli 2, Ryder 2, Hardingham 2, Hille 2, Neagle 2, McVeigh, Watson
St Kilda: Riewoldt 2, Schneider 2, Gram 2, Montagna, Goddard, Koschitzke, Ray, Peake

BEST
Essendon: Fletcher, Watson, Monfries, Hurley, Stanton, Hocking
St Kilda: Montagna, Schneider, Hayes, Gram, Goddard

INJURIES
Essendon: Davey (ankle)
St Kilda: Jones (ankle) replaced in selected side by Geary

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Donlon, Chamberlain, Mollison

Official crowd: 37,165 at Etihad Stadium

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.