St Kilda barely maintained their impeccable AFL record with a dramatic 13.16 (94) to 13.15 (93) win over a gallant a Sydney at the SCG on Saturday night.

Sydney led 57-50 at halftime, but the Saints produced one of their trademark defensive shutdowns in the third quarter.

They kicked 4.5 to 0.3 to take a lead of just over three goals into the final term.

Leigh Montagna kicked a game-breaking behind with little more than 20 seconds remaining to bring up the Saints' 18th straight win and break Sydney's hearts.

The loss may well end the Swans slim finals hopes, but they covered themselves in glory against a St Kilda team which dug deep to retain its perfect log.

Fighting for their finals life, Sydney launched a thrilling last-quarter fightback after they trailed by 19 points heading into the last term.

They kicked 5.3 to 2.3, with young key forward Jesse White putting them ahead 93-92 with just over four minutes remaining.

The 21-year-old forward finished with three majors, two of them in the last period.

Brendon Goddard levelled the score at 93-93 with a behind from a long-range set shot with just over three minutes left.

Former Swan Adam Schneider was instrumental in the Saints' third quarter resurgence.

He kicked two goals early in the second half to help turn the tide after an inspired five-goal second quarter from Sydney meant the Saints trailed at halftime for only the third time this season, two of those occasions being against the Swans.

Schneider, Nick Riewoldt and Andrew McQualter all finished with two goals for the Saints.

Montagna accumulated a match-high 34 possessions with Goddard tallying 29 and Nick Dal Santo 28.

For Sydney, Jarrad McVeigh led the way with 24 touches followed by youngster Ed Barlow and Rhyce Shaw with 23 each.

Conceding an average of only 61 points per game through the first 17 rounds, the Saints gave up almost that many in the first half at the SCG.

With dual Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes leading the way with two goals, the Swans lived up to their pre-match promise of pressuring the Saints at every turn.

The Saints' high-scoring trio of forwards, Riewoldt, Stephen Milne and Justin Koschitzke, who was returning from a hand injury and suspension, were all limited to one goal by the long break.

Both teams struggled to score early, but majors to James Gwilt and Ben McEvoy gave the visitors an early 14-3 lead.

Striving for their 18th straight win, the top-of-the-table Saints led by 12 points late in the first quarter but trailed 8.9 (57) to 7.8 (50) at halftime.

Long-range set shot goals to Goodes and Ed Barlow just either side of the quarter time siren pulled them level.

While Sydney trailed by six or seven points for much of the second quarter, late goals to Martin Mattner and Luke Ablett gave them their halftime buffer.

The Saints finished ahead on the possession side though ruckman Darren Jolly gave Sydney the edge in the hitouts.

St Kilda coach Ross Lyons was pleased at the way his side toughed out the game and lifted in the third quarter.

"We weren't winning the ball that well, our clearance work was quite poor at times," Lyons said.

"We just made a few little changes, but really it was just weight of numbers, the whole team lifted. They just lifted their run and their work rate."

He said King popped but didn't dislocate a shoulder and he praised Riewoldt for continuing to compete against Craig Bolton despite being concussed from a head knock.

Lyons expected another ruckman Michael Gardiner and Zac Dawson to both be available next week.

He didn't see the first quarter incident for which Milne was reported for striking Jared Crouch.

Lyons said the game would help prepare his team "really well for finals football" and praised the Swans, even though he felt a couple of Saints errors and a turnover "invited them back into the game".

Sydney coach Paul Roos rated the performance as probably their best this year and felt they had played close to their maximum.

He was particularly pleased with their efforts given injuries to Jolly (hamstring), Craig Bird (shoulder) and Ryan O'Keefe (ribs/back).

"I couldn't be prouder of the group, it's just frustrating when you lose by a point," Roos said.

"But you've got to remember where we are and where they are at as a club. It's an unbelievable effort to do what we did and unfortunately we didn't win."

He was pleased with the efforts of some of his younger players including White, Nick Smith and Barlow plus senior stars Goodes and Craig Bolton.

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