ST KILDA has not built the consistency of performance to be a finals team but has the personnel to eventually get there, a disappointed coach Alan Richardson says.

The Saints crashed out of the finals race with a 24-point loss to Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday, producing some of their worst football before a gutsy fightback fell short in the second half.

Full match coverage and stats

Richardson said the loss highlighted the team's inconsistency in a season that saw them beat Richmond by 67 points in a breath-taking performance just five weeks ago.    

"We're clearly not quite there," Richardson said after Sunday's loss, which left the Saints one game and significant percentage behind eighth-placed West Coast.  

WATCH: Alan Richardson's full post-match media conference

"We've still got some work to do on consistency of performance and today's a good example of that.

"(We played) some good footy and some average footy. We're not going to be the team we want to be if we continue to be that.

"What I do know is we've got the personnel, so we have high expectations of our players."

Five talking points: Melbourne v St Kilda

Richardson said away wins against Hawthorn in Tasmania and Fremantle in Perth showed the Saints had improved their ability on the road this season, and their best footy was of a higher standard than 2016. 

Their worst football, however, was still rearing its head and the coach said his team had used the ball as poorly as he had seen on Sunday, racking up 32 turnovers in the first quarter.

"(We made) fundamental errors, not necessarily a reflection of pressure from the opposition, just really easy stuff that we butchered," Richardson said.  

"We just need to learn from what happened and when we get in those situations you've got to perform strongly and make sure you make the most of your opportunities, as an AFL player should.

"You've got to get it done and there's no other way other than working on it. That's what our guys will do.

"The stuff that made the game so difficult for us was the use."

As well as butchering the ball around the ground, the Saints were unable to convert their chances in front of goal, kicking 4.7 during a gutsy third-quarter fightback. 

It has been a running theme for the team this season and Richardson said more hard work was needed.

"Our guys work incredibly hard and we think we have the program to give our guys the best opportunity to be able to execute their work," the coach said. 

"We clearly need to get better. When you are playing catch-up footy you need to be able to make the most of your opportunities.

"We've just got to keep working on our execution. Our ability to be able to convert our hard work, to put it through the goals, has been an issue."

Richardson praised the Demons for their hard-working style which saw them out-number the Saints at contests "a little bit too often".  

The Saints expect to regain retiring champion Nick Riewoldt for next Sunday's clash against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium before finishing the season against Richmond at the MCG in round 23.