MUCH has been made of the alleged "Sydneyisation" of St Kilda under the coaching of former Swans assistant Ross Lyon.

A lot of the theorising has been debatable, some of it complete bunk. But the one similarity becoming increasingly apparent, and significant, is the Saints' capacity to finish the season full of running.

Particularly significant, considering a fourth win on the trot, a third quarter of football against Hawthorn on Saturday night possibly the best term the Saints have produced in the past three years, and a very favourable run home over the last six rounds.

After a shocking start under Lyon last year, St Kilda finished just out of the eight with 7½ wins from its last 11 games. It's happening again, the Saints 5-7 five weeks ago, now 9-7.

Sydney was a master of pacing itself in its grand final years of 2005-06, the Swans winning 10 of their last 12 games en route to their famous '05 flag, six of their final seven the next season to clinch top-four spots both times.

Of course, there was no opponent as dominant as the steamroller that is Geelong sitting waiting on top the ladder, either.

But the implications of St Kilda's eight-goal burst against the Hawks shouldn't be underestimated. This is a vastly different side from the one that just five weeks ago had everyone scratching their heads as to why we had even considered Lyon's team a potential flag challenger.

The present winning streak could not have begun any less spectacularly, with a very scratchy home win over Fremantle. The real turning point in hindsight seems to have been the upset over North Melbourne at Carrara heading into the break.

Carlton was accounted for very efficiently, but Saturday night's 10-goal turnaround against a shell-shocked Hawthorn was on another level again altogether, and symbolic on several fronts.

Even in the heady days of 2004-05 under Grant Thomas, St Kilda was seldom a team capable of turning around early adversity in the course of a game. As senior heads such as Nick Dal Santo, Luke Ball and Leigh Montagna noted after the win, they have now done it twice in three matches.

The angst over skipper Nick Riewoldt's kicking seems eons ago at the moment, 6.0 the return from one of the great captain's games of recent times. "Roo's" 22 disposals and 10 marks was only as noteworthy as the territory he covered and his chasing, harassing and smothering.

Jason Blake presented a very timely wildcard in the ruck, none the least with his three goals. Nor should the spark provided by the younger hands now relied upon more frequently be sold short. Clinton Jones was one of the Saint's best and he and Robert Eddy St Kilda's two leading tacklers on Saturday night.

It's all coming together for St Kilda, the irony that it is the same Sydney outfit to which Lyon's team is so frequently compared that stands in the way of the double chance.

The Swans' dramatic two-point win over Carlton yesterday might end up proving the most critical result of the season. Coach Paul Roos' unusual display of animation come siren time was an indicator of the importance of a six rather than two-point lead over the three teams on nine wins.

But Sydney is far from home and hosed for fourth spot. The Swans have Adelaide next week. As poor as the Crows have been, with yesterday's loss to Port Adelaide their fifth in a row, their record over Sydney is better than anyone's, an amazing eight wins in their past nine meetings. Then it's four top-eight rivals in the final five games, including the Western Bulldogs, Geelong and another nemesis, Collingwood, all of whom have beaten Roos' side this season.

And all this with injury clouds over Michael O'Loughlin, Leo Barry and duel Brownlow Medallist Adam Goodes. While Barry Hall's reappearance in the team continues to remain in question.

Compare that run with St Kilda's, which takes in only one top-eight opponent in Collingwood, a pre-finals final of sorts in round 19.

The Magpies remain firmly in the running, too, their beating up of Geelong earlier this season reason enough to respect their claims. But Collingwood has lost three of its past five now, with the importance of that win over the Cats reduced to a mere "what if" if the Magpies cannot also overhaul Sydney.

Fellow top-four contender Brisbane Lions isn't getting much kudos, either, but doesn't deserve it, having lost three of its past four before Saturday night's routine win over West Coast and having looked ordinary at best on the road.

It's St Kilda that would be hovering a lot closer to the top of the "form ladder" at the moment. Should the Saints continue to turn on football such as that sublime third term on Saturday night, they'll give the upper reaches of the premiership version a decent shake, too.