An afternoon where very little went right ended badly for St Kilda vice-captain Lenny Hayes when the onballer learnt he was on report.

Emergency umpire Scott Jeffery booked Hayes in the third term for striking Geelong opponent Joel Selwood and the AFL match review panel will assess the incident on Monday.

"I don't think there's much in it. We'll just have to wait and see," Hayes had said before the charge was confirmed.

Hayes was far from St Kilda's worst player at the MCG as the Cats beat them by 58 points in the qualifying final.

But overall, the Saints struggled horribly in the midfield.

"They were just a lot better at it. We got beaten in the clearances and (with) the contested ball, we got smashed," he said.

"I don't think it would have mattered how many rotations we had today, they just outplayed us."

Hayes said the side must regroup quickly and start preparing for Saturday night's semi-final against Collingwood, also at the MCG.

The Saints have lost to the Magpies twice this season, by nine points in round eight and 14 points in round 19.

"They're a very good side, a lot harder than us," Hayes said of Geelong.

"The beauty about the double chance is we've got to turn it around now - we've got six days to get things right.

"They outplayed us in probably every area and we can't afford to dwell on it too long, because we've got to get ourselves up for next (weekend).

"Obviously they're very good at it and proven big, hard bodies - they just outworked us today, ran harder."

While Geelong mauled St Kilda today, Hayes said at least his team would only have to worry about them again this year if they made the grand final.

"One positive out of it is if we did happen to win next week, we don't have to play them until later on," he said.

"They're the best in the comp and they showed that today."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP