THE win was vital, but how St Kilda went about its 17-point success over Richmond on Saturday night was even more impressive.

Six weeks ago, the Saints and Hawthorn produced probably the worst game of the season, which the Hawks won. It is no accident that St Kilda played with more precision and speed this time around at Telstra Dome.

Determined to regain respect from the rest of the league after a run of four losses, the Saints worked hard on their game style. They put their season back on track with the Richmond win and the shock success over West Coast a week ago in Perth.

"It's always a subjective opinion — I like free-flowing footy, but some teams don't let you play free-flowing footy," said Saints coach Ross Lyon. "Clearly, we've tinkered with our ball use.

"I've never defended eight or 10 goals (in a game) … we were clearly unhappy. The last couple of weeks, our work on the track with our ball movement has resulted in some more inside 50s and obviously some more direct play.

"The message isn't at all grey, it's fairly clear how we want to play and we got some rewards for that, which is pleasing because they've worked really hard on the track."

Lyon and Tigers coach Terry Wallace made a point post-match about mentioning the high quality of the game.

The loss meant Richmond remained at the bottom of the ladder, but Wallace is seeing a lot of good signs from his young side. He pointed out that the Saints have handed Richmond some fearful thrashings in the past few years.

"I like what I'm seeing — this side (St Kilda) … has given us some beltings, absolute beltings, certainly in my time at the footy club with a lot more senior, experienced teams for us," Wallace said.

"We're a lot younger now and being able to compete better against the opposition. From where I'm sitting, I think we're miles heading in the right direction than perhaps where we were 18 months ago.

"I know the ladder position doesn't say it, but against the better sides … we're playing better footy, I have no doubt about that."

Tigers forward Nathan Brown continued to impress in his second game back from a lengthy injury spell, kicking three goals.

AAP