Geelong brushed off St Kilda's challenge to keep their unbeaten AFL record intact with a 28-point win at the MCG on Saturday night.

The Cats led by 23 points at the main break and by 25 at three-quarter time before winning 15.10 (100) to 11.6 (72) in front of 39,539 fans.

Teenager Daniel Menzel kicked four goals for the Cats, while the Saints would be sweating on the Match Review Panel's verdict on a controversial tackle by Justin Koschitzke.

Geelong boast a 12-0 record in 2011 and the Saints, grand finalists in the past two years, have had seven defeats and a draw in 12 games.

The Cats won without Brownlow Medallist Jimmy Bartel, who staggered off the field in the first quarter with concussion, after his head crashed into teammate James Podsiadly's hip in a marking contest.

Geelong used their substitute player Mitch Duncan at quarter-time for Bartel, but Duncan was knocked out in the second term after a head-slamming tackle from Koschitzke.

Melbourne's Jack Trengove was banned for three matches after a similar tackle, which left Adelaide's Patrick Dangerfield concussed in round seven.

Duncan did return to the field and kicked a goal in the third quarter.

Geelong midfielder Joel Corey, one of the best players on the field, also laid a head-slamming tackle on Steven Jack in the last quarter which might come under scrutiny.

Clint Jones and Nick Dal Santo tried hard for the Saints, and Mathew Stokes was a dominant force for the Cats in midfield in his 100th game, kicking two goals.

St Kilda's defence, led by Sam Fisher, held the Cats to 3.3 (21) in the first term, while the Saints kicked 4.0 (24).

Geelong's 23-point halftime advantage came from six goals to St Kilda's one in the second quarter.

All-Australian midfielder Leigh Montagna was struggling for the Saints, and he shook his head in frustration when he was subbed off for Raph Clarke midway through the third quarter after gathering only nine touches.

The Saints traded two goals each with the Cats in the third term.

St Kilda's star forward and skipper Nick Riewoldt was moved into an on-ball role after having no impact on the first three quarters with only five touches against Geelong's Tom Lonergan.

The Saints kicked four goals in the last quarter including David Armitage's third, but the Cats scored four of their own to stay comfortably in front.

Jason Blake was a late withdrawal from St Kilda's selected side with a knee problem and was replaced by Koschitze.

The Cats host Adelaide in Geelong next Saturday while St Kilda have the bye.

Frustrated Saints' mentor Ross Lyon left the coach's box in the closing minutes of the final quarter, and tried to play down the incident in his post-match media conference.

"There was 30 seconds to go or something," Lyon said.

"I just wanted some clear think time. That was so I could get down to the rooms.

It's negligible and I think it's a non-issue. It's good to see you're watching."

Cats' midfielder James Kelly carried an ankle injury in the second half and veteran defender Darren Milburn had an Achilles problem, although coach Chris Scott said the seriousness of the injuries was yet to be assessed.

"With the personnel we had down, it was a good effort," said Scott, who described Geelong's win as workmanlike.

"We got the job done."

Fiery St Kilda coach Ross Lyon couldn't bring himself to watch the final moments of his AFL side's 28-point loss to competition leaders Geelong on Saturday night.

Skill errors killed the 12th-placed Saints, as Geelong won 15.10 (100) to 11.6 (72) in front of 39,539 fans at the MCG.

The Cats, who have won all 12 matches this season, led by 23 points at the main break and by 25 at three-quarter time, before both sides kicked four goals in the final term.

In a move evoking memories of former Adelaide coach Malcolm Blight's walk around the boundary one day while the game continued, Lyon stormed out of the coach's box late in the last quarter.

Lyon claimed he was just trying to clear his head after the club's seventh loss for 2011.

"That was so I could get down to the rooms. There was 30 seconds to go or something," Lyon said.

"I had the stats and I was walking down. I just wanted some clear think time.

"That was so I could get down to the rooms.

"It's negligible and I think it's a non-issue. It's good to see you're watching."

Joel Corey and Paul Chapman led the Cats in midfield, while teenager Daniel Menzel kicked four goals.

Defender Sam Fisher and midfielder Nick Dal Santo were among the Saints' better players, but skipper Nick Riewoldt was nowhere to be seen, finishing in an on-ball role with a total of seven possessions after failing to kick a goal.

Lyon said skill errors had let the Saints down, and Geelong were allowed to score too many goals on the counter-attack.

"Our ability to execute was frustrating all night," he said.

"We came here to get into a fight and test ourselves against one of the top two teams in the competition.

"I didn't think we were out of our depth.

"There's a lot to like if we can improve our execution and bits and pieces of team discipline.

"The basics let us down: dropped marks, lack of scorers, the ability to hit a target at crucial times.

"Other than that, we were really in the game."

All-Australian midfielder Leigh Montagna was another star player who had an off night and he was substituted in the third term.

The Saints will be sweating on the Match Review Panel's verdict on a controversial tackle by Justin Koschitzke.

The Cats won without Brownlow Medallist Jimmy Bartel, who staggered off the field in the first quarter with concussion, after his head crashed into teammate James Podsiadly's hip in a marking contest.

Geelong used their substitute player Mitch Duncan at quarter-time for Bartel, but Duncan himself was knocked out in the second term after a head-slamming tackle from Koschitzke.

Melbourne's Jack Trengove was banned for three matches after a similar tackle which left Adelaide's Patrick Dangerfield concussed in round seven.

Duncan did return to the field and kicked a goal in the third quarter.

Corey also laid a head-slamming tackle on Steven Jack in the last quarter which might come under scrutiny.

The Cats host Adelaide in Geelong next Saturday, while St Kilda have the bye.

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