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Much of the pre-game dissection focused on how St Kilda was going to stop Geelong superstars Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood.

But by the final siren, it was an even spread of midfield contribution that paved the way to a thrilling three-point win for the Saints.

While Dangerfield and Selwood still got their fair share of the ball, they weren’t as dominant as they have been in recent weeks.

Seb Ross went head-to-head with Dangerfield and won the duel, Jack Steven continued his brilliant season and the rest of St Kilda’s engine room all performed their duty with aplomb.

In the aftermath of St Kilda’s impressive win on Saturday night, emerging wingman Jack Newnes said it was a collective midfield approach that got the job done against the Cats.

“We were obviously very worried about Dangerfield and Selwood through the midfield,” Newnes told saints.com.au after the three-point win.

“They played reasonable, but I thought Sebby Ross stepped up and played probably the best game I’ve seen him play for the club.

“Jacky Steven was unreal, same as Lukey Dunstan, Blake Acres – you could name them all, they played their part and it worked for us.”

While Ross doesn’t hold a formal title at the moment, Newnes said his housemate is regarded as a leader within the four walls of the Linen House Centre, particularly among the younger generation.

“He’s not classified in that leadership group, but he’s a very strong leader at the club and all the younger boys look up to him,” Newnes said.

“The way he went about his rehab last year and coming into the season this year, the way he’s playing his footy he’s leading on the field and speaking up in meetings as well.”

With a top-eight scalp now firmly in the bank, Newnes believes the win will propel the Saints forward through the winter months and across the back nine of the season.

“I don’t think we’ve knocked over someone in the top-eight yet, we’ve won the games we probably should have won,” Newnes said.

“So we knew tonight was our chance to have a crack at a top-eight side and we gave it everything and got over the line.

“We’ve been trying to take a scalp all year so the boys are pumped and really looking forward to the second half of the season.”