It was a case of an in-form St Kilda side steaming towards the business end of the AFL season against an undermanned Essendon outfit for whom the year could not end quickly enough.

Bombers coach Matthew Knights believes his inexperienced and severely injury-weakened team never stopped trying, but were unable to physically match the Saints, who needed to win big and did.

The 21.21 (147) to 5.9 (39) landslide at Telstra Dome was the Saints' biggest win ever over the Bombers and the margin could easily have been larger, given the number of simple shots for goal missed by St Kilda players.

But with Knights estimating up to a dozen players on the sidelines injured might otherwise have been in his team, he was not about to be overly critical of his young group.

"Even in the third quarter there and the last quarter the boys were endeavouring and they were trying things," Knights said of a final term in which they were smashed 7.6 to 0.1.

"They were trying to generate run and movement and we just couldn't get any flow whatsoever ... we couldn't make anything work for us today.

"We were completely outpointed, St Kilda fixed up Adelaide good and proper last week and Adelaide have shown their formline was pretty good, so we were playing a side that was in pretty good nick."

The problems for Essendon started in the ruck, where experienced pair Steven King and Justin Koschitzke dominated against third-gamer Tom Bellchambers.

An Essendon attack missing the likes of Scott Lucas and Adam McPhee also failed to fire, while the absence of Dustin Fletcher in defence and the need to use young tall Paddy Ryder in attack and in stints in the ruck left holes down back.

Saints midfielders Lenny Hayes and Brendon Goddard were both superb, while captain Nick Riewoldt dominated up forward, with the only let-down in his game some poor kicking, finishing with 4.5.

But goalsneak Stephen Milne made up for that with 7.2, while Jason Gram's three goals running through the midfield were also important.

The Bombers were farewelling much-respected veterans Jason Johnson, Adam Ramanauskas, Damien Peverill and Mal Michael, but Knights did not believe their teammates let those players down.

"Every player that represented our club today had that best intention to (give them a good send-off), it just didn't pan out like that, we didn't play well enough," he said.

"I know there's a lot of emotional players (in the rooms afterwards) that really do admire the four boys that are retiring.

"The performance wasn't good, but the four guys that played today that are retiring have done themselves proud and been wonderful people for the Essendon footy club and that's what it's about."

While the Saints achieved the margin of about 90 points or greater needed to snatch fourth spot, their coach Ross Lyon said their focus had been on doing the little things right, rather than the scoreboard.

"We knew it was a mathematical possibility, but I certainly don't get up and bounce out of my house and think let's win by 100 points," Lyon said.

"I come to AFL games knowing that if you don't compete hard and don't chase and tackle you get embarrassed very quickly, so to be frank, that was the furtherest thing from my mind until it became a mathematical possibility.

"But I can understand everyone being excited ... when almost an impossibility becomes real everyone gets excited."

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