St Kilda took three quarters of a step back to form with their scrappy AFL win over North Melbourne.
Despite failing to finish the Kangaroos off in the final term on Friday night at Etihad Stadium, coach Alan Richardson was rapt with the performance.
They led by 42 points midway through the last quarter, but took the foot off North's throat.
The 'Roos kicked the last four goals to restore some respectability after only kicking that many up to three-quarter time.
But the 12.17 (89)-10.12 (72) win broke St Kilda's three-game losing streak and Richardson noted that, including the bye, they had gone a month without winning.
"I was really proud of them, the fact they were able to play in that sort of manner," he said.
"Our focus was not necessarily about getting our season back on track, that was an outcome of playing good footy.
"What does our good footy look like? What does it mean for you as an individual? I reckon they had real clarity around that.
"Now we didn't get it done in the last quarter, but there were three quarters of positive footy, the way we want to play ... they'll get belief from that."
The Saints are not yet out of trouble, but at 6-6 they remain in the top-eight hunt.
"We definitely need to improve, there's no doubt about that, but it was a step towards getting our footy back and that was pleasing," Richardson said.
Veterans Leigh Montagna and Nick Riewoldt played key roles after having plenty of focus on them during the week.
Montagna was nonplussed after commentator Dermott Brereton took aim at his form, while Riewoldt returned from two games out with a knee injury.
There is also ongoing talk about whether the former captain should keep playing beyond this season.
Montagna had a solid game off half-back, while Riewoldt was relentless with his hard running.
"At the risk of sounding like a horse trainer, I think he'll be better for the run," Richardson said of Riewoldt.
The match review panel will look at an incident where Riewoldt lashed out in retaliation at North's Scott Thompson and hit him across the back, but the Saints star should avoid suspension.
St Kilda came through Friday night unscathed and could regain key forward Paddy McCartin for next Sunday's home game against Gold Coast.
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