The second Ross Lyon era at St Kilda has started in style, with the Saints revealing a new game style that proved too much for Fremantle, winning a brutal clash at Marvel Stadium by 15 points on Sunday.

Undermanned against a 2022 finalist that is expected to improve, the Saints played with discipline to give Lyon a first-up victory against the Club he coached to a Grand Final.

It was a nail-biting clash that remained alive until the final minutes, but the Saints refused to relent under pressure defensively and took their chances, kicking five unanswered goals to seal the 10.7 (67) to 7.10 (52) win.

To underline that this is a new era on-field as well as in the coaches' box, they did it with impressive performances from debutants Mattaes Phillipou and Anthony Caminiti, who each had key involvements in the final term.

It was always going to be a matter of system over talent for the Saints, who entered round one with 14 players on their injury list, including up to eight of their best line-up and a cluster of tall forwards. Fremantle, by comparison, were missing only Michael Walters from their best 22.

Hard work at the coalface and an ability to force turnovers with relentless defensive pressure were the keys. Once they won possession, they showed great dare to play on and move the ball through the corridor.

Midfielders Brad Crouch (30 disposals and four clearances), Jack Steele (28 and seven inside 50s) and Ryan Byrnes (27 and five) were excellent against Freo's highly touted onballers.

They gave the Saints a 35-29 advantage in clearances, despite the ruck dominance of Freo, who won the hitouts 46-19 through Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson, with Rowan Marshall battling manfully against the star pair.

The Saints achieved the win while a man down for much of the second half after activating substitute Ben Paton only to lose defender Jimmy Wester to an apparent leg injury moments after. 

They were spent by the final siren and earned every one of the valuable four points, with Fremantle left to go back to the drawing board after its game style was blunted by a well-organised unit willing to stick to a plan.

Fremantle, by comparison, was too often conservative with its movement and looked best when it was willing to take the same sort of risks the Saints were.

They built a 12-point lead early in the third quarter but couldn't capitalise thereafter, with forwards Matt Taberner, Josh Treacy and Fyfe combining for only two goals.

Don't talk about the big screen
Leading by eight points early in the second quarter, St Kilda was the better team and had done an excellent job of restricting Fremantle's scoring opportunities. Where they came undone briefly was by referencing the big screen after free kicks and demonstrating their disappointment. It is clear umpires won't tolerate that action in 2023, with Callum Wilkie and Jack Steele learning the hard way as their seemingly mild complaints turned uncertain set shots in goalsquare goals for Matt Taberner and James Aish.

Cox controls the airwaves
Plenty of Brennan Cox's marks were racked up Fremantle switched play in defence, but enough of them weren't for him to be a dominant figure in Sunday's game. Already an elite key defender, Cox has his sights set on being a Therabody AFL All-Australian in 2023 and is on his way after one round. The 24-year-old's third quarter was sublime as the Saints went inside 50 15 times for a total of 1.2. Cox had nine disposals, eight marks and five intercepts as the centrepiece of an excellent back six. 

ST KILDA          3.3    5.4     6.6    10.7 (67)
FREMANTLE      2.1    5.4     7.6    7.10 (52)

GOALS 
St Kilda: Gresham 2, Owens 2, Wood 2, Bytel, Cordy, Higgins, Phillipou
Fremantle: Schultz 2, Aish, Frederick, Switkowski, Taberner, Treacy

BEST
St Kilda: Sinclair, Crouch, Steele, Wilkie, Marshall, Byrnes
Fremantle: Cox, Young, Ryan, Clark, Henry, Serong

INJURIES
St Kilda: Webster (leg)
Fremantle: Nil

SUBSTITUTES 
St Kilda: Ben Paton (replaced Dan Butler in the third quarter)
Fremantle: Bailey Banfield (replaced Matt Taberner in the fourth quarter)

Crowd: TBC at Marvel Stadium

Switta: ‘Incredibly disappointed’ to lose in predictable way
Saints march home over Freo
Justin Longmuir post-match Q&A - Round 1 v St Kilda