DEFENDER Grant Birchall says superior running across the ground helped Hawthorn beat St Kilda and improve its record in season 2007 to 5-3 after round eight.

“We just thought if we stuck at it, with our speed and run at the end, we were pretty confident we could run out the game,” Birchall told hawthornfc.com.au.

“It’s a good win, but it was a pretty ugly game to watch really. St Kilda were just trying to hold off our run. It just opened up in the last quarter, and started to be a bit more free-flowing, which suited us a bit more. Without Gram and Goddard for St Kilda, it hurt their run a bit.”

The Hawks have their sights aimed on the finals this year, and Birchall said St Kilda was another likely contender.

“They’re not going too badly. With their new coach it will probably take a little while to get going. They’ll probably get better as the season goes on.”

“We’re going quite well. Five and three is not a bad start. We’ve got a big month ahead, so it was important that we win tonight and consolidate our spot in the eight,” he said.