Goddard was stretchered from the pitch in a neck brace after crumpling to the ground following a collision with team-mate Zac Dawson's hip in a first-quarter marking contest.
The star defender gave the crowd a thumbs-up as he left the ground and the Saints - already sitting on a solid lead - got on with it to the tune of 15.12 (102) to 7.14 (56).
A sickening mid-air collision between Sean Dempster and Jason Blake in the shadows of full-time also stopped play for an extended period of time in another injury woe for the already ailing Saints.
Dempster was knocked out and required oxygen on-field after being accidentally kneed in the face by team-mate Blake as the pair were contesting a mark. Blake landed awkwardly on his neck but left the ground under his own power.
Ross Lyon could not hide his dismay from television cameras; he was spotted in the coaches' box with hands over his face as his second player for the afternoon was sent to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.
St Kilda and former Fremantle midfielder Brett Peake told Grandstand that while the injuries were unfortunate, the club still had the personnel to take care of business.
"Not really," he told Grandstand when asked whether the Saints felt the impact of Goddard and Dempster's absence.
"I think we had the players to come in and play the positions. When Seany went down late there was only about three minutes to play but when BJ went down, Nicky Widmar had to come on as the sub and I think he did pretty well and got the job done.
"We knew it was going to be a hard game and it felt like we played two games out there today.
"Quarters went for that long and obviously with a few of our blokes going down injured it was a really tough day and really hot out there so we're glad to get away with a win."
The Saints, criticised this season for lacking passion, regained their trademark fighting spirit to show they are far from a spent force.
But the injuries to Goddard and Dempster could have long-term ramifications for the Saints' season.
St Kilda, which now has three wins and a draw from nine games, has already lost Lenny Hayes for the year and can ill afford to have a player of Goddard's ilk out for an extended period.
Dockers shockers
Fremantle booted just one goal in the opening half and was woeful in all aspects of the game in easily its worst performance of the year.
Even skipper Matthew Pavlich had a massive case of the fumbles as St Kilda's unrelenting pressure and clean ball skills proved the difference.
Stand-in Dockers ruckman Jonathon Griffin (38 hit-outs) toiled valiantly in the absence of Aaron Sandilands and could not be blamed for Fremantle's inept performance.
Saints tagger Clint Jones kept Stephen Hill quiet while Nick Dal Santo, Adam Schneider (four goals), Brett Peake (three goals) and Jack Steven were also important.
Peake was humble about his own performance.
"My own game means nothing these days," he said.
"It's all about playing the role for the team and [I'm] just glad that al the small forwards worked in together and we came away with the points."
Luke McPharlin was Fremantle's best player, keeping St Kilda spearhead Nick Riewoldt goalless.
Such was the lack of fight displayed by Fremantle, a sizeable chunk of the 35,483 fans left well before the final siren.
The result loosens Fremantle's already shaky grip on eighth spot with Richmond able to dislodge the Dockers should it get past Port Adelaide in Darwin on Saturday night.
The Saints have now won two straight and sit just outside the top half of the competition on 14 points, equal with the Demons but trailing Melbourne on percentages.
But they will not get carried away with thoughts of a comeback or finals footy, according to Peake.
"That's not what we're about, we're just earning respect back in the AFL and just going at it game by game," he said.
"The last two weeks have been a step forward but we've got a lot of improvement to go.
"Obviously we play Collingwood next week and it's a big game so recovery is vital at the moment.
"It just means getting all the fluids back in and eating the right foods to get up for next week."
St Kilda: 15.12 (102) - A Schneider 4, B Peake 3, C Jones 2, L Montagna 2, A Siposs, D Armitage, J Steven, S Milne.
Fremantle: 7.14 (56) - G Broughton 2, K Bradley, M Pavlich, P Duffield, R Palmer, S Hill.
- ABC/AAP
Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, vic, st-kilda-3182, wa, perth-6000 First posted May 28, 2011 18:15:00
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