The second Ross Lyon era at St Kilda has started in stirring style, with the Saints revealing a new game style that proved too much for Fremantle, winning a brutal clash at Marvel Stadium by 15 points on Sunday.

Undermanned and underdogs against a 2022 finalist that is expected to improve, the Saints played with discipline and dare to give Lyon a first-up victory against the club he coached to a Grand Final.

It was nail-biting clash that remained alive until the final minutes, but the Saints refused to relent under pressure defensively and took their chances, kicking five unanswered goals to seal the 10.7 (67) to 7.10 (52) win.

To underline that this is a new era on-field as well as in the coaches' box, they did it with impressive performances from debutants Mattaes Phillipou and Anthony Caminiti, who each had key involvements in the final term.

It was always going to be a matter of system over talent for the Saints, who entered round one with 14 players on their injury list, including up to eight of their best line-up and a cluster of tall forwards. The Dockers, by comparison, were missing only Michael Walters from their best 22.

Hard work at the coalface and an ability to force turnovers with relentless defensive pressure were the keys. Once they won possession, they showed great dare to play on and move the ball through the corridor.

Midfielders Brad Crouch (30 disposals and four clearances), Jack Steele (28 and seven inside 50s) and Ryan Byrnes (27 and five) were excellent against the Dockers' highly touted onballers.

They gave the Saints a 35-29 advantage in clearances, despite the ruck dominance of the Dockers, who won the hitouts 46-19 through Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson, with Rowan Marshall battling manfully against the star pair.

Half-back Sinclair relished the Saints' new style and was a star with 26 disposals and 10 rebounds, while defender Callum Wilkie shut down dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe in his first game as a forward target.

SAINTS MATCH CENTRE: View all news, stats and videos from Round 1

Already undermanned, the Saints achieved the win while a man down for much of the second half after activating substitute Ben Paton only to lose defender Jimmy Wester to an apparent leg injury moments after. 

They were spent by the final siren and earned every one of the valuable four points, with Fremantle left to go back to the drawing board after its game style was blunted by a well-organised unit willing to stick to a plan.

Fremantle, by comparison, was too often conservative with its movement and looked best when it was willing to take the same sort of risks the Saints were.

They built a 12-point lead early in the third quarter but couldn't capitalise thereafter, with forwards Matt Taberner, Josh Treacy and Fyfe combining for only two goals.

GOALS 
St Kilda: Gresham 2, Owens 2, Wood 2, Bytel, Cordy, Higgins, Phillipou
Fremantle: Schultz 2, Aish, Frederick, Switkowski, Taberner, Treacy

BEST
St Kilda: Sinclair, Crouch, Steele, Wilkie, Marshall, Byrnes
Fremantle: Cox, Young, Ryan, Clark, Henry, Serong

INJURIES
St Kilda: Webster (leg)
Fremantle: Nil

SUBSTITUTES 
St Kilda: Ben Paton (replaced Dan Butler in the third quarter)
Fremantle: Bailey Banfield (replaced Matt Taberner in the fourth quarter)

Crowd: TBC at Marvel Stadium