Saints coach Ross Lyon said his team showed plenty of spirit in their loss to Carlton, but lacked the polish to get the job done at the MCG.

St Kilda matched Carlton with 46 inside-50s but were unable to connect forward of centre in front of over 65,000.

"We just couldn't get quite gain ascendancy ... it was just a few different things throughout the game and ultimately they were able to take opportunities a bit more easily," Lyon said.

"We played a pretty good front-half game ... but we didn't get the efficiency. I thought our spirit was there on a pretty special night, and a challenging night.

"We've just got to keep building and we'll get better."

Saints livewire Jack Higgins was again brilliant before being subbed out at three-quarter time due to illness.

Higgins kicked an equal team-high two goals, taking his season tally to 23 goals - one goal behind Coleman Medal leader Ben King.

Lyon revealed Higgins almost didn't play after dealing with a calf issue during the week.

"He had a tough week, he almost didn't play," Lyon said.

"He had a scan on his calf, he didn't train but then he was alright and then he was really quite unwell (during the game).

"We'll put our arms around him and try get him up for Perth."

St Kilda now has a nine-day break before playing West Coast at Optus Stadium.