An inspired performance by young star Max King was not enough to drive St Kilda past West Coast, with the Eagles holding on to win an entertaining battle by eight points at Optus Stadium on Saturday.

King produced a contested marking masterclass and booted a career-high six goals, threatening to steal the match late as he dominated the air and booted three final-quarter goals. 

SAINTS MATCH CENTRE: View all news, stats and videos from Round 19

But the Eagles steadied when they needed to, with midfielder Dom Sheed twice answering King's heroics with running goals of his own to secure the win, 14.10 (94) to 13.8 (86). 

The win gives West Coast important momentum in what has been a stop-start season and allows it to tighten its grip on a top-eight spot by seeing off one of their challengers.

The Eagles also re-established their form at home, having lost back-to-back matches at Optus Stadium to leave their season delicately balanced.

Round 19 v West Coast
  • 00:50

    RD19 | Taking the game on leads to exciting team goal

    Zak Jones and Dan Butler show their speed taking the game on, leading to a Max King mark and goal.

    AFL
  • 00:28

    RD19 | Butler's speed on show

    Dan Butler crumbs the ball at speed and kicks truly against the Eagles.

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  • 01:26

    RD19 | 'We had our chances': Butler on missed opportunities against Eagles

    Dan Butler spoke to STK Media after our Round 19 loss to West Coast.

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  • 01:14

    RD19 | 'Stay strong': King's message to Saints fans in Victoria

    Max King spoke STK Media after our Round 19 loss to West Coast.

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  • 02:21

    RD19 | Dare Coach's Message

    Senior Coach Brett Ratten's message to fans following our Round 19 loss to West Coast.

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  • 08:04

    RD19 | 'We had the opportunity': Ratten after Saints' western resurgence

    Watch St Kilda's full press conference after round 19's match against West Coast

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  • 02:48

    RD19 | King reigns supreme in marvellous marking display

    Max King produces the best game of his career with a frightening six-goal performance that included a host of stellar marks

    AFL
  • 07:54

    RD19 | Highlights v West Coast

    The Eagles and Saints clash in Round 19

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  • 00:48

    RD19 | Max King's super speccy shows he's the real deal

    The confidence of Max King continues to rise with another stunning mark before goal number five

    AFL
  • 00:50

    RD19 | You can't afford to spill around this Butler

    Dan Butler pounces on Josh Rotham's costly mishap in front of the sticks

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  • 00:54

    RD19 | King catching fire, climbing higher

    Max King hauls in two terrific grabs and finishes off his work with some lovely set shots

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  • 00:47

    RD19 | Paddy rides one home in some style

    Paddy Ryder pulls a huge snap out of his bag of tricks to add to his fine season

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It wasn't a return to their best, but the Eagles were good enough to hold their opponents at arms' length for most of the match and they produced some periods of dominance upon which they can build.

Their ability to move the ball with speed and hit targets in attack was what separated them from the honest but less polished Saints, with both teams going into attack 27 times in the first half but West Coast having 14 scoring shots to the Saints' six. 

King's ability to take contested marks and convert from long range kept his team in the contest, and when he kicked his third goal early in the third quarter the margin was 27 points.

Then West Coast defender Josh Rotham got a horror bounce when running out of defence, allowing Dan Butler to swoop and kick another from the goalsquare, cutting the margin to 20.

Rotham was outdone minutes later when Saint Ben Long missed a simple shot close to the goalline, kicking the ball into the goal umpire, who was up against the post.

A set shot from Darling after the siren extended the margin to 25 points, leaving the Saints with too much work to do in the final quarter, even if King threatened to do it all himself.

GOALS
West Coast: Kennedy 3, Darling 3, Sheed 2, Ryan, Cripps, Kelly, Naitanui, Waterman, Langdon
St Kilda: King 6, Butler 2, Sinclair, Billings, Ryder, Hunter, Membrey

BEST
West Coast: Sheed, Kelly, Kennedy, Cripps, Darling, Yeo, Naitanui, Hurn
St Kilda: King, Jones, Butler, Ross, Sinclair, Ryder, Hill

INJURIES
West Coast: Ryan (hamstring)
St Kilda: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
West Coast: Brander (replaced Ryan)
St Kilda: Cooper Sharman (unused)

Crowd: 43,657 at Optus Stadium

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