A maiden Premiership is on the cards for St Kilda's VWFL side after completing the 2020 season on top of the ladder.
It was the near-perfect clean-sweep for the Saints, who powered through the fast-tracked competition with seven out of a possible eight victories.
St Kilda finished Day 2 of the Robert Rose Foundation VWFL with wins over Richmond, Hawthorn and Collingwood, falling only to Essendon by four points.
Ryan Smith's move to the centre in the opening match against Richmond helped guarantee the Saints' finals berth – who only had to win one match to confirm a place in the top-four – while a four-goal bag from Lenny Redrose in his first game of the year was just as telling in the 21-point victory.
Peter Richardson was also prominent role in the attacking end against the Tigers, later going on to slot two important goals against the Hawks.
St Kilda's greatest challenge came against Essendon, with the tight tussle ultimately swinging in favour of the Bombers late in the game.
The Saints had their chances to trim back the Bombers' lead after conceding their narrow one-point lead at the major break, but were beaten by the clock before they could mount their final charge.
Rory Briant debuted up forward – playing against his older brother Nicholas – while defender Jude Antony was also swung into attack throughout the match.
The red, white and black got back on track in the following match against Hawthorn, with Smith and Richardson forming a damaging partnership up forward as Caitlyn Alger helped open up the court for the high-scoring pair.
Combined with a strong defensive performance from Patrick McKay and Smith's stints through the centre, the Saints overcame a slow start to pinch a 13-point victory and inch closer towards a minor Premiership.
A nine-point win against a determined Collingwood rounded out the day, with St Kilda experimenting several on-field combinations during the close affair.
St Kilda will hope to continue its winning form in next Sunday's Preliminary Final, and if victorious, will advance to the Grand Final later that morning.
St Kilda's VWFL finals campaign will be live-streamed on Sunday 13 December at 10:00am on the AFL Inclusion and VWFL websites.
