TWO significant matters emerged from St Kilda's win by less than a kick over Richmond a fortnight ago at Docklands, one technical, and one far more earthy.

Firstly, there was the nature of the win, eked out in the face of a cluster of injuries. Nick Riewoldt and Steven Baker and Matt Maguire and Xavier Clarke all went down, but Stephen Milne's seven goals got the Saints over the line.

It was not the type of win for which the modern-day St Kilda has been known. In the Grant Thomas-Ross Lyon period, the Saints have tended to either smash teams, or lose, and it certainly pleased coach Lyon.

"We had two guys out there who shouldn't have been there," he said yesterday. "People have questioned our spirit as a group, which I find unfathomable when you look at that effort. We've won a lot of close games."

Secondly, there was the technical matter of contested possession, meant to be crucial even in the modern, running game. St Kilda lost this category by a whopping 51 possessions on the night, yet beat Richmond through efficiency of ball-use. "That's a world record," Lyon said. "It's a really unique statistic."

But Lyon, who played his football in an uncompromising way, has not been prepared to laugh it off. He's too old school for that, which is why he has challenged his midfielders as they prepare to take on Collingwood at Telstra Dome tonight. "I've spoken about our midfield needing to lift, about the game being won in midfield," he said. "They know that."

A lot of people look at St Kilda and avert their eyes to the forward line, with its big names. Lyon looks at the middle, the coalface. He points to the fact that Champion Data has St Kilda at 14th in contested possession this season when its numbers are put up against its opposition. This compares with sixth last year, and in Lyon's eyes, it is not good enough.

"That's been my main message," he said. "You can't attack if you're not winning the ball. In our first quarter against Sydney, the Bulldogs and Geelong, we looked an attacking team. But if you looked closely, we were winning the ball really well."

Lyon believes that when St Kilda is criticised for being overly negative, an