Two clubs with a combined total of two premierships in almost two centuries spent mostly near the foot of the VFL/AFL ladder.

If the stakes are always high in preliminary finals, somehow they seemed even higher than usual in Friday night's clash between the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda at the MCG.

The Bulldogs' one and only flag came way back in 1954.

And the 48 years since their most recent appearance on the last Saturday in September is the longest of any club in the competition.

Not that the Saints' record is anything brag about.

One flag - and that by a single point back in 1966 - and 26 wooden spoons is a mostly sorry tale.

Henry Ford believed that history was bunk.

And coaches Rodney Eade and Ross Lyon would insist that all of the above is nothing more than that - ancient history.

The players sing from the same song sheet.

But try telling that the long-suffering fans - 78,245 of whom packed the MCG on a perfect early spring night.

For them the past - containing many more losses than wins - is very real.

Which may have accounted for the lack of triumphalism in the buildup.

St Kilda started the match as red-hot favourites, courtesy of their 21 wins in 23 matches this season - including two comprehensive victories over the Bulldogs.

Conventional wisdom had it that for the Western Bulldogs have any chance of halting the St Kilda juggernaut, they had start fast and score heavily early on.

They achieved the first part of the equation, dominating possession and territory in the opening half.

Turning that advantage into a match-winning lead was altogether more difficult against the most miserly defensive outfit in the history of the game.

The Dogs' halftime advantage of seven points should have been significantly greater - a point rammed home when Saints captain Nick Riewoldt goaled from a contentious off-the-ball free kick before the opening bounce of the third term.

In the week he was named All Australian captain for the first time, the blonde Saints spearhead always shaped as the likely matchwinner.

He kicked a second goal midway through the third term and created the spillage for Stephen Milne boot the major on the stroke of three-quarter time that ensured the Saints led by five points at the final change.

If that was good, then his final term was something else again.

Opposing skipper Brad Johnson - also among his side's best players on a pressure-packed night - put the 'Dogs ahead with his second goal of the game early in the final term.

But the stalemate was broken by Riewoldt, who kicked the game's final two goals ensure it would be the Saints chasing the best sort of history on September 26 against either Geelong or Collingwood.

For the brave Bulldogs, the 9.6 (60) 7.11 (53) loss was a sixth preliminary final defeat since their last appearance in a grand final back in 1961.

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