St Kilda's 22-point defeat to the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium has been compounded by injuries to key duo Jack Sinclair and Tom De Koning.
Smashed in their last three outings against the Bulldogs, the Saints were forced to deal with adversity from the start on Sunday when Sinclair went down in the first quarter and De Koning in the second.
St Kilda battled on bravely and stayed in the contest until late but the Bulldogs' early buffer was enough as they secured a crucial win, 12.11 (83) to 8.13 (61).
St Kilda insisted Sinclair hurt his calf, but they would have serious concerns over an achilles injury after they put his foot in a moon boot when he hobbled from the field in pain.
