Despite being brought back down to earth by the Saints, Paul Roos still has faith.

It was a fixture that Melbourne fans would have circled as winnable but the Demons were not able to overcome a resilient St Kilda, losing 10.8 (68) to 6.15 (51).

That score highlighted the most glaring disparity between the teams – an ability to kick straight and take chances.

Led by evergreen captain Nick Riewoldt, St Kilda made a mockery of the inside 50 count to punish the wasteful Demons.

Melbourne’s last 10 efforts before the break all resulted in minor scores.

Hit by key absences in the forward line, with four tall targets out and Jack Fitzpatrick withdrawn prior to halftime, Roos was forced to put together a patchwork forward line and wasn’t surprised by the result.

But rather than chastise or drill his young troops, for Roos the answer will be to take his side back to school.

“We’ve got to be teachers,” he said.

“We can’t be smashing these guys, there’s the expectation `the coach is going to jump on me again’.”

“There were times we played some great footy … and there were other times we just dropped off dramatically.

“We’ve got to teach them how to win.”

The midfield group was given the tick of approval, with new centreman Jack Watts singled out for approval after 27 touches.

“The midfield group we’ve assembled can get their hands on the footy, we saw that,” Roos said.

“Ball in hand, (Watts) was outstanding,” he said, “his ability to step around, find a target, he stood out.”

For the winning Saints, coach Alan Richardson had plenty to smile about – a standout performance from Clinton Jones (39 touches), crucial goals from Riewoldt and the emergence of Luke Dunstan.

Dunstan had 21 touches in his first AFL game and showed a hunger for the football that had Saints fans purring.

“Luke Dunstan’s going to be a very good player for a long time at our footy club,” Richardson said.

“For him to step in in the absence of others and play the role – he did himself proud.”

Their win killed off preseason speculation that the Saints could sink into the abyss and they will be boosted by the return of Lenny Hayes, Leigh Montagna, Sam Fisher and Jack Steven in weeks to come.

So how will Richardson celebrate his first coaching success?

“I’ll probably go and watch the replay,” he said.

“To see the guys, the joy on their faces … to sing the song, that was probably celebration enough.”