Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has warned of "catastrophic change" at the Hawks, conceding that his side is "going nowhere quickly".
Having broken their 2017 duck last weekend against West Coast, Hawthorn thudded back to earth on Saturday in a 75-point thumping at the hands of St Kilda in Launceston.
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St Kilda smash hapless Hawks
St Kilda returned to form with a 75 point victory over a disappointing Hawthorn in Launceston.
The result ended the Hawks' 19-match winning streak at their Tasmanian home, and was their first loss to St Kilda since 2009. While it was Hawthorn's heaviest defeat at York Park, it was still only the third biggest loss suffered by the Hawks this season following 86-point drubbings by both Gold Coast and Geelong.
Clarkson suggested after the match that the Saints could have won by more. "It sounds terrible when you lose by 75 points but the margin could've been worse than that," he said.
"We were really disappointed with the way we played and really impressed with the way St Kilda went about it."
The Saints were wasteful in the first half but took control with eight goals to one in the third quarter.
It was the fourth time in six games this season that Hawthorn have conceded 42 or more points in the third quarter of a game, and Clarkson said it was symptomatic of a team that was unwilling to fight for long enough.
"I don't think it's any secret amongst the opposition clubs' coaches [that] we're the worst third-quarter team in the competition by an absolute mile," Clarkson said.
![Jarryd Roughead leads his despondent players off the ground after being crushed by the Saints.](/web/20170504174358im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/v/g/f/f/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvvgaw.png/1493523586912.jpg)
"That for me reflects a side that will put up a fight when the game's there early on but if the opposition continues to fight then we fall away, and fall away in a big way. We need to correct that, because if we continue to have performances like that then there'll need to be catastrophic change, and that's not usually the way we go about doing things."
Clarkson said such change could include personnel or tactics. "If we continue to get the sort of performance we got today, then we're going to have to consider something.
![Former Bulldog Koby Stevens made an impression for St Kilda.](/web/20170504174358im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/v/g/h/p/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvvgaw.png/1493461088458.jpg)
"We've got to try and find ways, even in-season, when things aren't going your way, to change things up. Whether that's an injection of younger players, whether that's a change of game style, whatever it is, we need to try to find different way to go about it, because we just can't continue to accept mediocre performances like we got today."
Clarkson said high-priced recruit Jaeger O'Meara had pulled OK despite having just 14 disposals against the Saints after missing two games with a knee injury.
He described O'Meara's performance as "quiet" but stressed that he wasn't alone in the Hawks' midfield. Clarkson added that he was hopeful livewire Cyril Rioli would be available to face Melbourne next Sunday having missed Saturday's loss with a hip issue.
St Kilda coach Alan Richardson was pleased with the way his side responded after he criticised their showing late in last week's loss to Geelong. Â
Saturday's win was just the Saints' third away from Victoria under Richardson, and their first interstate victory since round nine, 2015. The Saints conceded eight final-quarter goals to one against the Cats, and while Richardson insisted St Kilda's issues weren't totally solved, he said Saturday's win was a step forward.
"Not very often do I challenge the group publicly. I did after the [Geelong] game," Richardson said.
"I reckon there was a bit of pressure on the club given the performance last week. I'm really proud of the way they played [on Saturday] in terms of the contest."
Richardson in particular lauded midfielders Koby Stevens and Jack Steele, who joined the club from the Western Bulldogs and Greater Western Sydney respectively in the off-season.
Having recently been hospitalised with salmonella poisoning, Stevens played his first game for the Saints on Saturday, and impressed with 28 disposals, while Steele had 27 disposals.
Having improved their record to 3-3 for the season, St Kilda are facing a stern test against the in-form Giants next Friday night at Etihad Stadium.
Richardson said he was looking forward to the match, which will be the Saints' first Friday night game in more than two years. "[The Giants are]Â a really good footy team, playing aggressive footy. It's exciting for our players, it's exciting for our footy club."
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