WEST Coast has secured a home qualifying final against Hawthorn next Friday night with a dominant 95-point over St Kilda, but it came at a cost with experienced midfielder Chris Masten injuring his hamstring.
The Eagles will host their first qualifying final since their premiership year in 2006, and play in their first final since 2012.
They tuned up for the Hawks with a powerful display against the inexperienced Saints, winning 18.17 (125) to 4.6 (30).
"We're really happy," Eagles coach Adam Simpson said post-match.
"We're ecstatic and hope all of our members and supporters are enjoying the ride as much as we are.
"We've probably exceeded a lot of people's expectations.
"I think you've got to go for it now when you finish second. We're here to win a premiership."
But Masten's right hamstring injury will be a major concern. He limped from the field before half-time and was immediately subbed after failing tests. He had ice applied to the lower part of the hamstring and now question marks hover over his finals campaign.
WATCH: Hammy trouble for Masten
It was the only thing that went wrong for the Eagles. They had 60 more possessions and 21 more inside 50s, scored 35 times from 55 inside 50 entries and had 21 scoring shots to two after half-time.
Nic Naitanui was phenomenal in the ruck, with 16 disposals, 30 hit-outs and three goals. Andrew Gaff (36 disposals and two goals), Matt Priddis (35 disposals), Dom Sheed (33) and Luke Shuey (30) feasted on the silver service from Naitanui and Callum Sinclair (27 hit-outs).
Mark LeCras bagged four goals. Josh Kennedy kicked three to finish with 75 goals for the home and away season and all-but sew up the Coleman Medal.
The Eagles were so dominant that they played the last two minutes of the match with five players on the bench.
From the coach: Simpson post-match v Saints
It was a dismal end to the season for the Saints - their second biggest loss of the season, just a week after losing by 97 points to the Sydney Swans. They kicked just four goals for the second week running.
"We just embarrassed ourselves in the second half," St Kilda coach Alan Richardson said post-match.
"We have a relatively inexperienced team, a team that has been very strong in the contest and put pressure on for the whole year.
"It could be that some of the young blokes got a bit tired.
"The gap between us and the top six teams has been reasonably significant, and the last two weeks have probably exaggerated that.”
Leigh Montagna (33 disposals) and David Armitage (27) worked hard all night and Josh Bruce kicked two goals but they had very few winners.
The Saints were competitive in the opening term. Their pressure on the Eagles was exceptional considering they conceded the first four goals of the match. The Eagles had nearly double the number of handballs to kicks for the quarter (39-67) and kicked at 55 per cent efficiency. The Saints broke even in the clearances and had only one less inside 50 to trail by 15 points at quarter-time.
But thereafter it was a procession. Hugh Goddard produced a rare highlight when he kicked his first career goal in the second term but he was subbed for team balance at half-time.
WEST COAST 4.4 7.7 13.14 18.17 (125)
ST KILDA 2.1 3.5 4.5 4.6 (30)
GOALS
West Coast: LeCras 4, Kennedy 3, Naitanui 3, Darling 2, Gaff, 2, Cripps, Hill, Sinclair, Yeo
St Kilda: Bruce 2, Murdoch, Goddard
BEST
West Coast: Naitanui, Priddis, Gaff, Kennedy, Shuey, Hurn, LeCras
St Kilda: Montagna, Armitage, Steven, Fisher, Ross, Dunstan
INJURIES
West Coast: Masten (hamstring)
St Kilda: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
West Coast: Xavier Ellis replaced Chris Masten in the second quarter.
St Kilda: Jack Sinclair replaced Hugh Goddard at half-time, Darren Minchington replaced in selected side by Jack Sinclair
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Ryan, Dalgleish, Ryan
Official crowd: 36,165 at Domain Stadium
