THE first rule of Modern Australian Football 101 goes thus: Thou shalt not get carried away with weight of possession, even if it's good for your dream-team score, and even if the media is transfixed by this particular number.

For proof that it is a truism of the game, witness the first quarter of last night's St Kilda-Hawthorn encounter at the Docklands. St Kilda's first 103 possessions, taken in circles, backwards and sideways and often to a man under defensive pressure, yielded a single goal.

As a strike rate, this is something akin to one of Geoffrey Boycott's more laborious innings in the 1970s. Geelong, for instance, which is thought to play the purest football in the land, kicked a goal for every 24 possessions against the Western Bulldogs yesterday.

At quarter-time, Hawthorn had 70 disposals to St Kilda's 116 but the Hawks led by 15 points. All of which goes to show that it is efficiency and method and quality of disposal that counts rather than the raw numbers. Not to mention how you get hold of the thing.

Take Brendon Goddard, who started deep in defence on Mark Williams. Goddard had 12 disposals in the first quarter, 11 of them uncontested as he moved in space. But he conceded two early goals to the dangerous Williams and had to be moved off his man. Was he playing good football? No, he was racking up numbers for whoever picked him in a dream team.

St Kilda came out trying to run and carry the ball through Hawthorn's now-famous cluster, and proceeded to botch the attempt early. Too many handballs missed their mark and Hawthorn, with Jarryd Roughead, Buddy Franklin and Williams stationed up forward, punished the Saints on the rebound.

For a while, it looked like a clinic for the Hawks, their lead stretching to 34 points just before the long break. But St Kilda hung tough, and at the beginning of the third quarter, everything changed. The Saints, 28 points down and apparently on their knees, came out with a more offensive mindset.

Nick Riewoldt assumed his natural role as leader, Jason Blake started running forward from the centre bounces and almost inexplicably, it rained St Kilda goals.

"It just proves that we're never out of a contest," said Blake, who played the game of his life. "And if we play our best footy, we can beat anyone."

Having managed only six in the first half, the Saints booted seven more in 17 minutes, and eight for the quarter, punching wide holes in Hawthorn's defence. In a game that will go down as one of modern St Kilda's greatest triumphs, this was the winning quarter of football. "We just couldn't get our hands on the footy," said Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson.

Hawthorn panicked under the blowtorch.

Jordan Lewis kicked out straight to Nick Dal Santo for a goal. Trent Croad needlessly took out Riewoldt in a marking contest for another. Blake, running in the ruck, transformed himself into a matchwinner. St Kilda would kick 12 goals to Hawthorn's three in the second half to secure a fourth consecutive victory and take a strong hold on a spot in the top eight.

As for Hawthorn, it was a night that promised so much but delivered only questions. A night when Michael Osborne soared on to the shoulders of Steven King in the second quarter, set himself to take what might have been one of the best marks in the history of the game, but spilled it off his chest. A night like that, and "a reality check for this football club" in Clarkson's words.

St Kilda just wanted it more, but you can't measure that. Max Hudghton spent the night wrestling with Franklin and kept him to just three goals from four shots. No stat for that one, although Hudghton's meagre four-kick tally did not bother the faithful on the terraces. They cheered him off the ground when the job was done.