A rusty St Kilda failed to impress in their pre-season series loss to Carlton, but Paddy McCartin's encouraging display at least provided a silver lining.
The Saints fielded a strong side at Ikon Park on Wednesday night, but the Blues led all the way to record a 13.11 (89) to 9.13 (67) win in front of 8098 fans.
Plenty of interest centred on McCartin, who played his first game since round 12 last year after overcoming a series of concussions.
The burly forward presented well, kicking two goals and taking five marks.
But, perhaps more importantly, he copped a couple of blows to the head and was able to see out the game.
"Paddy could have had a pretty big game, really. He dropped a couple of marks that he'd normally take, but still ended up having a pretty positive impact," coach Alan Richardson said.
"He copped a reasonable whack at one stage.
"It's a real positive whether you've had an issue with your head or a knee ... if you get a whack (there) and brush it off and go again.
"We thought overall he was a pretty strong performer for us."
McCartin has struggled with concussions since he was the No.1 pick at the 2014 draft, playing just 22 games in his first three seasons.
Recent top-10 draft picks Hunter Clark (two goals) and Nick Coffield (20 possessions) also impressed in a largely disjointed display.
"We were pretty rusty ... there's no doubt about that," Richardson said.
"Full credit to the Blues but our execution (wasn't good) and we took a long time to adjust to the (blustery) conditions.
"On balance there were some things that we liked - probably some individuals more than system and method."
Skipper Jarryn Geary didn't feature after halftime due to a head knock, but isn't expected to miss any training or matches as a result.
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