ST KILDA coach Ross Lyon has revealed the side's grand plan to eventually play Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera across all three lines, after the Saints star racked up a career-best 43 disposals in a performance that gave Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell "nightmares" on Saturday evening.

Wanganeen-Milera was among the game's best players at Marvel Stadium, despite the Saints going down to the Hawks by 20 points, finishing with 43 touches alongside 11 score involvements, seven intercepts, 1010m gained and eight inside 50s.

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Having had 28 disposals to three-quarter time across half-back, Wanganeen-Milera then spent the entire final term in the midfield where he added another 15 touches and three clearances.

Speaking after the game, Lyon said he still "doesn't know" whether the uncontracted Wanganeen-Milera will remain at St Kilda beyond this year amid intense interest from Adelaide and Port Adelaide, but said the club was making long-term plans for the youngster to feature in multiple positions.

"They went to him to try and shut him down," Lyon said.

"He really worked for the team and helped free up people and helped us. He still got it. We injected him into the midfield and I thought he was electric.

"We did that early [in his career] and he wasn't quite conditioned for it, his groins got a little bit sore. But we know what we're building. Ultimately, Andrew McLeod used to play half-back, midfield, forward when he won his Norm Smith. Malcolm Blight moved him through the lines.

"We know he's got half-back, we know he's got midfield, and I think he can do a bit of forward stuff. We've got a long-term plan that he becomes great, rather than just a great half-back."

Hawthorn coach Mitchell was full of praise for Wanganeen-Milera's performance afterwards, saying his team simply couldn't stop the classy 22-year-old despite planning for ways to quell his influence throughout the week.

"Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera … I'm going to have nightmares about him," Mitchell said.

"We scouted him, we tried so many things, we just couldn't stop him. He's just too good."

Mitchell referred to Wanganeen-Milera's performance multiple times in his post-match press conference, describing the way in which Hawthorn unsuccessfully attempted to tag the St Kilda star using a variety of different stoppers.

"Wherever he is, even when he was on the bench, I was worried about him," Mitchell said.

"Watching him before tonight, I knew he was a really good player. But we tagged him with three or four different players in three or four different positions and he was just too good. Whether he was winning it contested or uncontested, he's just a star."

Hawthorn momentarily moved inside the AFL's top four on Saturday night, and guaranteed its spot in the League's top eight by the weekend's end, with the gritty and grinding 14.10 (94) to 10.14 (74) win.

That's despite the Hawks finishing the game having lost a series of key statistical categories including inside 50s (-11), clearances (-4) and contested possessions (-18) as well as drawing even for scoring shots.

"There are a couple of ways you can look at the game," Mitchell said.

"You can look at it from a positive lens and say we kicked a reasonable score for the amount of inside 50s we had.

"The other way to look at it is, why are we only going inside 42 times? There were some things to unpack in the game. But it was one of those games where I'm not sure too many are rushing home to watch the replay."

The defeat was St Kilda's fourth in a row – and its seventh from its last eight games – but Lyon said the club was taking confidence from spirited performances in losses against Hawthorn, Fremantle and Collingwood in recent weeks.

With youngsters like Wanganeen-Milera, as well as Max Hall (27 disposals, three goals) and Alix Tauru (13 disposals, seven intercepts) all impressing, Lyon said the club remained focused on its long-term trajectory.

"You get off the emotional rollercoaster of win-loss," Lyon said.

"There's a bigger picture and there's a bigger aim. You've got to keep working to it. If you get stuck … it's like the recession we had to have, like Paul Keating said. We certainly know where we want to get to and what we've got to do.

"Our connection, our spirit, the environment is really level and supportive, but demanding. It's really clear with the spirit and the effort where we need to improve. It was really obvious to most at the stadium tonight. I think we had 11 shots in the last quarter, while still missing some connection and a few out on the full."