St Kilda are staring down the barrel of a second consecutive season without finals action after an impressive 2020 campaign, loitering in ninth spot on the AFL ladder with just six rounds of home and away action to go.

The Saints had an opportunity to climb back inside the eight after Richmond's narrow loss to Gold Coast, but failed to make the most of opportunities in the first half against Fremantle.

The Dockers showed their class in the second half, running out eventual 41-point winners in the Saturday night clash.

Just days after inking a new two-year contract extension to remain in the senior coach position at Moorabbin, Brett Ratten conceded that the performance from his side was "frustrating".

"We missed an opportunity today," Ratten said post-game.

"We didn't do our work in the first half and we definitely didn't do it in the second half where we let ourselves down.

"That's the frustrating part."

With nine wins on the board so far in 2022, finals are still on the cards for the red, black and white, though the odds are not stacked in St Kilda's favour.

A crucial clash against the Western Bulldogs looms next, before three tough match ups against the top eight placed Geelong, Brisbane and Sydney.

Fremantle however, find themselves in third spot after their trip to Melbourne, now facing a home clash against top eight rival Sydney.

Dockers coach Justin Longmuir spoke post-game about the win, making mention of superstar Nat Fyfe. The two-time Brownlow Medalist spent most of the first half in the forward line, before making a shift to the midfield after the break, where he had an immediate impact.

"It's on him sometimes to identify where he can have most impact," Longmuir said.

"He's got that license.

"(Fyfe's move) was the big difference in the game, they out-hunted us in there (in the opening two quarters) and being down that much at centre bounce you're starting your ball movement from the back half.

"Our ball movement from our defensive 50 wasn't very good.

"I don't think we smashed them at centre bounce in the second half but we were able to break even, which was probably all we needed."