ST KILDA coach Brett Ratten refused to blame a controversial decision from the AFL Review Centre late in his side's three-point loss to Melbourne.
Demons star Christian Petracca's kick was called a goal after it trickled through with six minutes to play in the last quarter of the low-scoring Alice Springs contest.
St Kilda backman Dougal Howard claimed to have touched the ball before it had fully crossed the line and it was reviewed by the AFL, however with a lack of goal-line technology at the venue the decision went back to the goal umpire's original call, which was a goal.
The goal, which was Petracca's fourth, gave the Demons a 10-point buffer at a crucial stage of the game, with the Saints snaring one back before falling short.
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But Ratten said the Saints, who fought back from a slow start to finish the game with 16 more inside-50 entries, had only themselves at fault.
"The umpire was there in a pretty good position. [Howard] thought he got the ball, there's no real review here and it is what it is. We can't change it," Ratten said post-game.
"There's probably a lot of other things in the game that we didn't get right. That's just a decision that was in the game, but we had our opportunities."
Ratten rued the Saints' missed opportunities in front of goal and their overall disposal quality in the defeat, which now leaves the club in danger of missing a breakthrough return to the finals as they head into the bye next round.
His Melbourne counterpart Simon Goodwin had a stronger view on the goal-line cameras, saying it should be uniform across the competition.
"If we can't get the technology to a point where you can’t make accurate calls, it's better off not having it," Goodwin said.
"It's there designed for the obvious ones, but when you're going to [check] the touched ones from a fair way out or right on the goal line you need the technology there at every venue."
The hard-fought victory pushes the Demons back into the top-eight and Goodwin said it was vital to claim a win against an in-form side.
"It's really important. We've been building as a side throughout the year and I think that's four out of the last five and six out of the last nine [games] we've been able to get across the line," he said.
"We're starting to build a good block of form, but it's important to start translating that against the good clubs and the good teams that are in really good form and St Kilda have been doing that all season."
