AN INJURY-hit Hawthorn has bounced back from a 32-point quarter-time deficit to beat St Kilda by 30 points at the MCG on Sunday afternoon, a match that appears to have ended the Saints' era as a flag contender.

The Hawks won 14.15 (99) to 10.9 (69), despite losing two key players to knee injuries in the first half.

The signs looked good early for the Saints as skipper Nick Riewoldt kicked the opening two goals of the game, both of which were set up by second-gamer Arryn Siposs

The Hawks' horror run with injuries began in the first three minutes of the match when defender Stephen Gilham was subbed off after injuring his right knee.

They were only just coming to terms with that loss when ruckman David Hale went down in the second term.

To lose two key big men in the first half should be a significant handicap for any side but Hawthorn played its best football when everything else was going wrong for them.

Jarryd Roughead shouldered much of the ruck load and while Ben McEvoy beat him in the air, the Hawks forward made enough of a contest to give his on-ballers opportunities. So many opportunities that they finished with 18 centre clearances to three for the game.

The Hawks booted five goals in the second quarter to none. It was an all-too-familiar situation for St Kilda, which has only managed to kick nine goals in its second quarters this season.

It was a much more even third quarter on the scoreboard, but the Hawks continued to dominate out of the middle.

The Saints were down by only 11 points at the final change but were forced to try something different, with Riewoldt starting on the wing, Sam Fisher in the midfield and Nick Dal Santo deep in the forward line.

But it had little impact as the Hawks booted six goals to two in the final term to run out easy winners.

Lance Franklin enjoyed a day out, but not for the first time accuracy let him down. He finished with 5.5 in his best return in a match against the Saints.

St Kilda had been a bogey for Franklin for much of his career. Eight previous matches against the Saints had brought just 17 goals at an average of 2.12 per game - his lowest average against any club.

But it was a different story on Sunday as he made life difficult for his opponent, close friend and former teammate Zac Dawson, to be one of his team's best.

The 62-point turnaround didn't quite match the famous 1999 round 12 clash between the two teams at Waverley, but there were similarities.

On that day, the Hawks trailed by 63 points early in the second quarter before mounting one of football's most famous comebacks to eventually win by 13 points.

Coincidentally, the 1999 comeback game was shown on the big screen before the match.

It was a game with long-term consequences for the Saints, who won only three more games for the season as they quickly slipped from premiership contenders to also-rans.

Many saw that as the point where St Kilda's late '90s premiership window closed. They finished no higher than 15th over the following three seasons.

Hawthorn            0.1     5.8     8.13    14.15 (99)
St Kilda                5.3     5.4     7.8       10.9 (69)

GOALS
Hawthorn: Franklin 5, Savage 2, Breust 2, Lewis, Roughead, Osborne, Shiels, Sewell
St Kilda: Riewoldt 3, Siposs 2, Cripps 2, Schneider, Polo, Dempster

BEST
Hawthorn: Lewis, Franklin, Savage, Hodge, Suckling, Sewell, Guerra
St Kilda: Fisher, Gwilt, McEvoy, Schneider, Siposs

INJURIES
Hawthorn: Gilham (right knee), Hale (right knee)
St Kilda: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Hawthorn: Stephen Gilham (knee) replaced by Luke Breust during the first quarter
St Kilda: Andrew McQualter replaced by Jamie Cripps at half-time

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Vozzo, Nicholls, Mollison

Official crowd: 42,453 at MCG

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs