St Kilda has narrowly fallen short of a crucial interstate win, losing to Fremantle by five points at Optus Stadium today.

After a sluggish start, the Saints fought their way back into the game to trail by just six point at the final change.

The Dockers steadied through two goals to small forward Brandon Matera until the Saints came again.

Red-time goals from Jade Gresham and then Jack Billings with eight seconds remaining set up a critical final centre bounce, but the Dockers held on after the umpires spotted an extra man in St Kilda's forward line and forced a reset in the 6-6-6 formation.  

Billings was the Saints’ best with 32 disposals and two goals but was outshone by Fremantle’s Michael Walters.

The midfielder finished with 27 possessions at 92 per cent efficiency, two goals, and eight clearances to be the clear standout for best-on-ground honours. 

Defender Luke Ryan (32 possessions, 13 marks and nine rebounds) was crucial marshalling the backline and mopping up the Saints' forward entries, while Ed Langdon (29 possessions) was prolific early. 

Dockers Captain Nat Fyfe was excellent in the midfield before colliding with Josh Battle in a fair contest for the ball that resulted in a serious head clash.  

The skipper was helped from the ground by two trainers and staggered as he made his way to the interchange bench.

Unable to generate any attacking movement in the first quarter, St Kilda lifted in the second on the back of its contested game, kicking four straight goals into half-time to cut the margin to five points. 

The Saints battled all day but lacked touch when going inside 50 and then in front of goal.  

Gresham (20 possessions and two goals) was critical during their periods on top, while Ruckman Rohan Marshall controlled the air with 40 hitouts and paired that with a presence at ground level with six clearances. 

FREMANTLE 3.2 6.2 9.2 11.5 (71)
ST KILDA 1.1 5.3 7.8 9.12 (66)

GOALS
Fremantle: Matera 3, Taberner 2, Walters 2, Hill, McCarthy, Hughes, Lobb
St Kilda: Gresham 3, Membrey 2, Acres, Bruce, Billings, Lonie

BEST 
Fremantle: Walters, Ryan, Langdon, Hill, Cerra, Fyfe
St Kilda: Gresham, Billings, Geary, Marshall, Newnes

INJURIES 
Fremantle: Fyfe (concussion)
St Kilda: Nathan Brown (head knock)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Margetts, Fisher, Mitchell

Official crowd: 38,227 at Optus Stadium