A 14-POINT loss to St Kilda has come at a huge cost to Port Adelaide, with injuries to star Zak Butters, Mitch Georgiades and Lachie Jones further souring the blow.

Butters' ankle was caught beneath him while attempting to tackle the Saints' Max Hall during the third term, and didn't feature again in the 13.9 (87) to 10.13 (73) contest.

SAINTS v POWER Full match coverage and stats

St Kilda led by 37 points before halftime, but saw the advantage slashed to just three points on multiple occasions in the third and fourth quarters.

But with Butters, Georgiades (concussion) and Jones (ribs) out of the game, and Jack Lukosius (calf) on one leg, the Power quite literally ran out of legs.

It keeps the Saints (8-9) firmly in the finals mix ahead of a huge clash with Geelong next week, while Port (6-11) is left counting the cost of a tough afternoon.

St Kilda stars Bradley Hill (39 disposals) and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (32) continued their strong form, with Hugo Garcia (32), Marcus Windhager (27) and ruckman Rowan Marshall (29) also influential.

Captain Callum Wilkie had a career-high 34 disposals and 13 intercept possessions as the anchor in defence, while Cooper Sharman kicked three goals - all in the Saints' dominant first term.

The hosts led by 18 points at quarter-time and doubled the advantage by the main break, before Jason Horne-Francis led Port's fightback.

Horne-Francis was moved forward in Georgaides' absence for the second half and kicked two of the Power's six goals in the third term.

Lukosius kept a ball in play to set up Joe Berry's opening goal of the last quarter, but the Saints hit back with majors through Mitch Owens and Mason Wood to settle the contest.

Horne-Francis finished with 23 disposals, eight clearances and two goals, while Butters had 26 touches and five clearances despite sitting out the final quarter.

Power defender Aliir Aliir had a dozen intercepts and Corey Durdin kicked two goals.

Sharman's strong start
The stage looked set for yet another Cooper Sharman star turn, with the Saint kicking three consecutive goals in the opening term. Sharman clunked marks and was a deadeye in front of the sticks, helping the Saints rocket out to an 18-point lead at quarter time. But the forward was barely sighted after quarter time, as other Saints took over the scoring. When he's on, Cooper Sharman is excellent, but his tendency to run hot and cold means the gap between his worst and best is simply too wide.

Turns out honesty isn't the best policy
While it's common to see an opposition player claim a goal was touched off the boot, it's pretty rare to see a player admit their own kick was touched. Logan Evans was adamant his shot on goal grazed the outstretched hand of St Kilda's Campbell Lake, even urging his teammates to set up for a kick-in. But a video review found there was insufficient evidence to confirm if the goal was touched, with Evans' goal standing in a much-needed boost for the Power.

ST KILDA                   4.2      9.7     11.7      13.9 (87)
PORT ADELAIDE       1.2      3.7      9.11     10.13 (73)

GOALS
St Kilda: Sharman 3, Higgins 2, Ryan 2, Caminiti, Marshall, Hill, Wood, Phillipou, Owens
Port Adelaide: Horne-Francis 2, Durdin 2, Berry, Aliir, Visentini, Burgoyne, Evans, Bamert

BEST
St Kilda: Hill, Wanganeen-Milera, Wilkie, Garcia, Marshall, Phillipou
Port Adelaide: Horne-Francis, Butters, Bergman, Byrne-Jones, Burgoyne

INJURIES
St Kilda: Caminiti (eye), Owens (TBC)
Port Adelaide: Georgiades (concussion), Jones (rib), Butters (ankle)

LATE CHANGES
St Kilda: None
Port Adelaide: Mitch Zadow (illness) replaced in selected side by Jacob Wehr

Crowd: TBC at Marvel Stadium