CARLTON has survived the most emotional of rollercoasters, falling into the finals despite a "heartbreaking" two-point loss to St Kilda on Sunday.

Needing a win to guarantee their top-eight spot, the undermanned Blues were sunk by Jack Higgins' last-gasp goal in a 11.10 (76) to 11.8 (74) defeat at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.

But Michael Voss's Blues were saved by Port Adelaide, whose hard-fought win over Fremantle in the last game of the home-and-away season saved Carlton's blushes.

BLUES v SAINTS Full match coverage and stats

They'll now head to the Gabba for a repeat of the memorable preliminary final last year and Carlton's miraculous comeback win in Opening Round this season.

The equation was taken out of the Blues' hands when Higgins put the Saints back in front in a pulsating contest when his right-foot snap floated through with 12 seconds left at Marvel Stadium.

Carlton had one last foray forward, but Zak Jones smothered Elijah Hollands before Lachlan Cowan's follow-up kick inside 50 missed his target as the siren sounded.

Blues coach Voss wasn't interested in hypothetical questions about the finals after the game, preferring to stay in the moment.

"It's absolutely heartbreaking," he said.

"I don't feel like we lost that game on heart, that's for sure.

"We lost it in moments and we probably didn't take all the ones we needed to be able to get the job done.

"It shows you what a fingertip does in footy, doesn't it? Just how close it is and how close the competition is.

"But the ability to be able to stay present and fight right to the end, I felt like was exceptional from the group."

Carlton trailed by as much as 20 points in the third quarter but stayed in touch and made all the running in a desperate final term.

Goals to Ashton Moir and Jesse Motlop put them in front before defender-turned-forward Brodie Kemp missed a set shot that could have sealed the match - and a finals berth - with two minutes left.

Saints forward Mattaes Phillipou missed in similar fashion at the other end, seemingly letting Carlton off the hook, but Higgins struck the decisive blow in the frantic final stages.

Blues skipper Patrick Cripps (30 disposals, seven clearances) and Sam Walsh (32, nine) were massive for their side but couldn't haul them over the line.

Blake Acres kicked two goals for Carlton, a tally matched by Mason Wood, Higgins and Tim Membrey for St Kilda.

Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (25 disposals) and Darcy Wilson (22) shone for the Saints, whose coach Ross Lyon had no sympathy for Carlton.

"I don't really care about the other side of the fence," he said.

St Kilda (11-12) finished Lyon's second season back at the helm in 12th spot, after reaching the finals last year.

In an ugly side story, goal umpire Steven Piperno was struck in the head by a bottle thrown from the crowd and had to be replaced by emergency Chelsea Roffey during the second term.

It came as St Kilda seemingly had the rub of the green with umpires early, with a 12-1 free-kick count infuriating Carlton fans.

The Blues won the free-kick count 8-0 in the final quarter and it ended 16-15 in the Saints' favour.

Umpire hurt in shameful incident
A fan is facing a lengthy ban after a goal umpire was struck in the head by a bottle thrown from the crowd during the second quarter. Umpire Steven Piperno was left bloodied after being struck by the missile and had to be replaced by reserve goal umpire, Chelsea Roffey. The AFL is investigating.

A tale of two late misses
When Brodie Kemp lined up a shot on goal with less than three minutes remaining to make it a 10-point Carlton lead, finals was so close the Blues could almost touch it. But the makeshift forward's miss kept the Saints alive before Mattaes Phillipou matched him with a bad miss from 35m out directly in front with barely a minute to go. Thankfully for the young Saint, he had Jack Higgins to bail him out. Kemp and the Blues weren't so lucky.

Blues fans ride the wave
The goal umpire incident was indefensible, but the emotional rollercoaster Carlton fans went on during Sunday's match certainly kept the neutrals entertained. A scrappy first half did nothing to calm the nerves of the Blues' faithful and a free kick count that was 12-1 in St Kilda's favour didn't help either. The final-quarter surge, the two late misses mentioned above and the fact their future was decided by another result only added to a rollercoaster day for those in navy blue.

CARLTON    1.3   4.3   9.5    11.8 (74)
ST KILDA    2.2   5.7   10.8     11.10 (76)

GOALS
Carlton: Acres 2, Carroll, Binns, Fantasia, Hewett, Kemp, Owies, Pittonet, Moir, Motlop
St Kilda: Membrey 2, Wood 2, Higgins 2, Phillipou, Byrnes, Dow, Jones, Marshall

BEST
Carlton: Cripps, Newman, Walsh, Hewett, Acres
St Kilda: Wanganeen-Milera, Sinclair, Steele, Phillipou, Wood, Jones

LATE CHANGE
Carlton: Mitch McGovern replaced in the selected side by Orazio Fantasia
St Kilda: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Carlton: Ashton Moir replaced Jack Carroll (tactical) in the fourth quarter
St Kilda: Hugo Garcia replaced Liam Stocker (groin) in the third quarter

Crowd: 43,843 at Marvel Stadium