St Kilda has struggled to crack a miserly Geelong, falling to a 26-point defeat to the VFL league leader at RSEA Park on Saturday.

The Saints battled hard but were outclassed when it mattered, with the Cats running out 9.17 (71) to 6.9 (45) victors to hand the home side their third consecutive loss.

VFL MATCH CENTRE: See all the stats from the Saints' loss to the Cats

The Cats proved why they remain the benchmark in the VFL competition this year, getting the early jump and putting the Saints' defence under seige with 29 inside 50s in the opening half.

Despite the Cats' territory dominance, the Saints' defence limited the damage to trail by just six points at the main break, with Ethan Phillips (17 disposals, 8 intercepts) orchestrating the backline superbly.

The Saints failed to generate a heap of scoring opportunities of their own, kicking just two goals in the opening half.

With scoring opening up for both sides in the third term, the Saints trailed by 13 points at the final change but couldn't contain the Cats in the last, with the visitors extending a lead that could have been more if not for their inaccuracy in front of goal in the final term (2.8).

Experienced AFL-listed players Jack Macrae (26 disposals, eight clearances) and Paddy Dow (27 disposals, four clearances) battled manfully in midfield, while Angus Hastie (24 disposals, 12 tackles, seven marks) responded strongly to his omission from the AFL side.

The 14th-placed Saints will look to get back to winning ways and keep their wildcard chances when they travel to La Trobe University in Bundoora to face Collingwood on Friday.

MATCH FACTS:

ST KILDA: 2.1 2.5 5.8 6.9 (45)
GEELONG: 2.4 3.5 7.9 9.17 (71)

GOALS: Maginness 2, Bourke 2, Mazzeo, Dodson

DISPOSALS: Dow 27, Macrae 26, Hastie 24, Banfield 20