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The Melbourne juggernaut kept rolling on as the Demons gave St Kilda a reality check in recording their 15th straight AFL win to stay atop the ladder.

Red-hot reigning premiers Melbourne have made another emphatic statement by crushing finals contenders St Kilda en route to their 15th straight AFL win.

A defensive masterclass set up Sunday's 38-point victory at the MCG to give the Saints a giant reality check as they slumped to back-to-back defeats.

Melbourne kicked the first five goals of the match and led by as much as 47 points late in the second quarter before running out winners 14.9 (93) to 8.7 (55).

The Demons coasted to victories in the first seven rounds mostly against teams not expected to finish inside the top eight but came out firing with their premiership-best against the Saints, who started the round in fourth place with a 5-2 record.

"The Saints are a good side and have been managing to hit the scoreboard, if you take away the Cairns game (against Port Adelaide), so I thought our defence was outstanding," Demons coach Simon Goodwin said.

"We just adapt to whatever the opposition do with us ... St Kilda have good modes that they can play with, whether that be fast or slow, and we were prepared for both."

Melbourne stamped their authority early by strangling the Saints' ball movement and capitalising on each of their own forward forays.

Clayton Oliver and Angus Brayshaw were in typically prolific moods in the midfield, while Steven May, Jake Lever and Harrison Petty completely controlled the air down back.

Kysaiah Pickett lit up the MCG with two electric first-term goals, while St Kilda's nightmare start was topped off when Tim Membrey's regulation set-shot after the quarter-time siren was touched by Petty.

The Saints saved themselves from embarrassment by performing better in the second-half as Melbourne lost a third quarter for the first time this season.

"We showed glimpses but Melbourne are there for four quarters and you can't say you're going to play a half or five minutes here, you need to play the full game and we weren't to the level we would like," St Kilda coach Brett Ratten said.

"We got a snapshot what the best looks like and can we bridge that coming gap in the coming weeks or by the end of the year, I'm not sure, but that's the challenge for us."

In further concern for St Kilda, small forward Dan Butler was subbed out with a lower leg injury ahead of the last quarter and replaced by Marcus Windhager.

Saints midfielder Zak Jones made an encouraging first appearance for the season after returning from personal leave but could find himself in trouble with the match review officer for a hit on Demons flyer Ed Langdon in the last quarter.

Things could get seriously ugly next Sunday as Melbourne face hapless West Coast, who have lost their last four games by an average of 83 points, at Optus Stadium.

St Kilda will be hoping to get back on the winners list when they host Geelong at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.