Western Bulldogs' forward Jason Akermanis starred with six goals as his side coasted home against a disappointing St Kilda to win their AFL match 15.16 (106) to 11.13 (79) at Telstra Dome.

The Bulldogs' win kept them just two premiership points behind the two top-placed teams Hawthorn and Geelong and kept the Saints outside of the eight.

St Kilda were the better team in the first term, outscoring the Bulldogs 3.6 to 2.0 and should have been much further in front, with some bad misses in front of goal.

The Bulldogs made them pay dearly, taking control with their running game in the middle two quarters, when they outscored the Saints 9.13 to 2.3 to take a 40-point lead at the last change to ensure victory.

Akermanis and Daniel Giansiracusa (four goals) showed plenty of polish in attack, which was something the Saints badly lacked.

They had just five goals on the board by three-quarter time, scoring six in the last term when the game was effectively over.

Captain Nick Riewoldt had a poor day, finishing with 2.2 including some dreadful misses from set shots which hurt his side badly in the first term.

He missed with his first shot from 25m dead in front, while with his second he was way off target and failed to make the distance from inside 50m.

At the other end, the Bulldogs needed some luck to score one of their two first-term goals, with a Farren Ray kick from 60m out bouncing through the goal-square after Leigh Fisher missed with an attempt punch it away.

It meant the Saints had little to show for their control in general play in the first quarter, with midfielder Nick Dal Santo and defenders Gram and Sam Fisher giving them plenty of run early.

The game quickly turned the 'Dogs' way in the second term, with Akermanis putting them in front about 10 minutes into the quarter with two goals in less than two minutes, the first courtesy of a clever tap-on from Will Minson.

It set the tone for the rest of the match, as the running play and skills of the Bulldogs made the Saints look slow and uninspired.

The Bulldogs worked their way on top in the midfield, with Matthew Boyd getting on top of Dal Santo, while the 'Dogs had many more contributors than the Saints.

When St Kilda did go forward, it mostly served as a platform for the 'Dogs to rebound and set up an attacking move of their own, given the ineffectiveness of St Kilda's attack.

Brian Lake, Ryan Hargrave and Dale Morris all performed well in defence for the 'Dogs, both in keeping their opponents quiet and providing drive themselves.

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