Wasteful. That's how Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson summed up his team's 17-point loss to St Kilda at Telstra Dome on Saturday night.

And so it was. In more ways than one.

The Hawks, sitting second on the ladder before the round, could have cemented a spot in the top four with a win. Instead, they now find themselves level on points with West Coast, Collingwood and the Kangaroos, who could move a game clear in second place should they beat Melbourne on Sunday.

The next month will be telling, too, with games against the high-flying Roos (Aurora Stadium), Essendon (MCG), a resurgent Brisbane (MCG) and a dangerous Port Adelaide (Aurora Stadium).

Against St Kilda, the Hawks failed to capitalise on their goal-scoring chances, with Lance Franklin booting 2.5 to three-quarter time before redeeming himself with three last-quarter goals.

The enigmatic forward also gave away an inopportune free kick after pushing Saints defender Max Hudghton to the ground - just as team-mate Stephen Gilham was lining up to level the scores in the second quarter.

A few moments later, 50-gamer Jarryd Roughead missed a relatively simple set shot from straight in front.

Both times, St Kilda swept the ball down the other end for goals.

The Hawks problems in front of goal were compounded by silly mistakes in defence, giving away a couple of six-pointers directly from kicking errors.

Clarkson said that despite his team's wastefulness, it matched the Saints in every other area on the ground and would learn a lot from the loss.

"We played some okay footy tonight, it was a tough contest and we missed some crucial opportunities," Clarkson said.

"All our KPIs (key performance indicators) in terms of ball movement and clearances, we beat them. Are we disappointed we lost? Yes. Are we shattered about it? No."

"We're a young side that's making some progress but we're going to have some hiccups along the way against some pretty experienced opposition."

"St Kilda should be in a position to be winning premierships - that's the quality of their list. Their top 20 players is as good as any in the competition."

Mitch Thorp, a late withdrawal on Saturday night because of soreness, should return for the match against the Kangaroos.