Spirit will only take an AFL team so far and "hard-arse" coach Ross Lyon says St Kilda are frustrated after their loss to Carlton.
The Saints could never quite peg Carlton back after falling four goals behind in the second term, eventually going down 11.11 (77) to 9.8 (62) on Friday night at the MCG.
The annual "Spud's Game", which honours late St Kilda great Danny Frawley and supports mental health programs, attracted a crowd of more than 65,000 - easily a record for these two clubs outside finals.
While St Kilda honoured the occasion, ultimately they couldn't match Carlton, with Lyon saying it had been "a bit of a moving feast" in terms of the challenges they faced during the game.
"We're not confused, we just want to have a good look at it," Lyon said.
"We never gave up ... but we need to learn and learn pretty quick.
"If I put my AFL hard-arse coach (hat) on, we're a bit frustrated and we want to improve quick, so we need to learn some lessons out of it."
Lyon said there was a lot to analyse post-game, wondering aloud about their ball movement.
They were also beaten in contested possessions and stoppages, with Lyon noting the Blues midfielders overall were more experienced.
"We weren't as good as we've been - it's not excuses, they're very experienced and big," Lyon said of the Carlton midfielders.
"That's just the challenge in development. They're the facts, but it's not an excuse."
Jack Higgins was subbed out at three-quarter time because of illness, while defender Dougal Howard has an adductor problem.
Lyon last week joked that adductor injuries once never existed in the AFL.
Young gun Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera was limping at times, but had a game-high 30 possessions.
Mattaes Phillipou made a successful return for his first senior game this season, after struggling with a leg injury.
