St Kilda overcame early Melbourne resistance to remain unbeaten atop the AFL ladder after a 37-point victory over the Demons at the Gold Coast Stadium on Saturday.

St Kilda, playing for their 10th consecutive win, were kept honest by a valiant Demons outfit to be in front by just eight points at halftime, before skipping clear for a 11.17 (83) to 6.10 (46) victory.

The Demons, well matched to the ladder leaders for the first half, suffered a miserable second half fade-out, in which they kicked no goals and just four points.

St Kilda had struggled to shrug off the Demons, but had the legs and the class to see out the match in comfort.

They kicked just four goals in the entire second half for victory, with skipper Nick Riewoldt, Lenny Hayes and Brendan Goddard among the best for the Saints.

The victory relegates Melbourne to their sixth loss in a row.

Unsurprisingly, it was the Saints that got the scoring started through Riewoldt, who ended up with four for the night against opponent Matthew Warnock.

St Kilda were dominant early, threatening to run away midway through the first term after goals to Goddard and Ray had them 16 points clear.

But the Dees, no doubt remembering their last clash with the Saints when a poor start blossomed into a 79-point drubbing, refused to be awed.

Melbourne threw everything at the ladder leaders and classy goals to youngsters Addam Maric and James Frawley - booting his first - had the club within a kick at quarter-time.

The Dees, led by an invigorated Cameron Bruce and Brad Green, upped their effort in the second to choke St Kilda's run and keep them to just two goals for the quarter.

They were within eight points at the main break, but then simply ran out of legs.

St Kilda, who dominated the centre clearances 35 to 21, shrugged them off in the third, keeping them scoreless, while adding three goals to their own tally - two through Riewoldt.

Saint Andrew McQualter kicked the lone goal of the final term to put the final nail in the Dees' coffin.

Melbourne coach Dean Bailey praised his squad's effort in the first half, but admitted St Kilda's pressure was too much to handle in the second.

"Our ball use was really poor - we had too many handballs which put us under enormous pressure ... and you can't turn the ball over against good teams (because) they make you pay," he said.

"We kept them out for as long as we could, but they were always going to give themselves an opportunity to score if we continued to turn it over." Although the win matches St Kilda's best streak of 10 games in 2004, St Kilda's Ross Lyon was not without criticism.

He said the team played "cute" and over used the football to allow the Dees room to manoeuvre.

The message at halftime, the coach said, was to play smart after a wasteful first half.

"We got a bit cute with it and then we kicked it a bit more, but the bottom line is we just didn't take our opportunities," Lyon said.

He denied it was an easy win, giving the teams' respective positions on the ladder.

"We don't see any easy games, we don't really believe that.

"We walk away with a valuable four points and a hard earned win ... and maybe from the outside people think that's expected but I'm in the coaches box and I've never felt that." The Saints will take on the struggling Kangaroos at Etihad Stadium on Saturday, while Melbourne gears up for the traditional Queen's Birthday clash against Collingwood.

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