St Kilda survived a final-quarter onslaught by Carlton to solidify their spot in the top eight with a gritty 18.11 (119) to 12.15 (87) AFL victory at the MCG.

It continued the Saints' momentum as they have now strung together three straight wins for the first time this year, after hard-fought victories over Fremantle and North Melbourne in the past two rounds.

Vice-captain Lenny Hayes was outstanding for the winners with his hard work in the packs and ferocious tackling.

Captain Nick Riewoldt also stood tall with his strong marking in attack, while fullback Max Hudghton did a vital stopping job on Blues dangerman Brendan Fevola.

The Saints looked set to cruise home when they led by 33 points entering the final term, but the Blues produced their best football of the match in the first 17 minutes of the last quarter to storm back into contention.

They outscored the Saints 4.2 to nothing during this period, skipper Chris Judd firing his side with an incredible start to the term, clearing the ball from the packs time and again.

Goalsneak Eddie Betts brought the Carlton faithful to their feet with two quick goals, both very clever snaps.

Fevola broke Hudghton's shackles for a rare moment to mark strongly and kick another, before defender-turned-forward Jarrad Waite added another to cut the margin to seven points.

But the Saints stood firm, with Justin Koschitzke slotting a clutch goal from the pocket, then marking at close range to set up another to Riewoldt to ease the pressure.

Earlier, the Blues had struggled to cope with the Saints' strong tackling pressure and crowding of their defence, regularly turning the ball over and allowing St Kilda to work their way on top.

Fevola's frustration at failing to have an impact showed early in the second term when he gave away an off-the-ball free kick to Hudghton when the Blues had possession at half-forward.

The Saints swept the ball to the other end for a Koschitzke mark and goal to hit the lead for the first time which they never relinquished.

Carlton's struggles to score when Fevola was having an off game were again shown up, with Waite forced to move forward in the second half.

Riewoldt finished with three goals and could easily have had more if not for some poor kicking, while Stephen Milne kicked five with some clever work from a forward pocket.

Judd was a clear standout for the Blues, with youngster Bryce Gibbs also prominent.

It was the 11th time in succession St Kilda have beaten Carlton, with the Blues' last win in 2001, the last year they made the finals.

The match was played in front of a crowd of 55,658, the biggest ever for a home-and-away game between these two clubs.

St Kilda coach Ross Lyon said he was delighted with his team's ability to stay strong when the Blues were charging.

"The game had to be won again, there's no doubt, even though they never headed us," he said.

"The crowd was roaring and they've got real confidence in their last quarters.

"But we knew we would run it out, we ran it out well and in the end I thought we went away with it again ... I thought we just competed really well over the four quarters."

Carlton coach Brett Ratten said the Blues were made to pay for wasting their ascendancy in general play in the first term, when they kicked 2.8 to the Saints' 2.4.

He said Fevola's undisciplined play early in the second, which resulted in him being benched, was an obvious turning point.

"That was probably the start of it, wasn't it? We were taking the ball up, had a bit of control in that first two or three minutes of the second quarter," Ratten said.

"Then the free kick, then the 50m (penalty), then the kick down and a mark and goal and then I think they scored another goal within two minutes.

"Within three or four minutes of play it was two goals the other way and (we were) 10 points down."

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