St Kilda coach Ross Lyon believes his side's form has taken a gradual upward path in the past three rounds, but will face a formidable test against Hawthorn next Saturday night.

The Saints survived a strong challenge from Carlton in the final term at the MCG on Friday night, to win 18.11 (119) to 12.15 (87) and strengthen their hold on eighth spot.

Lyon praised the players' character, after the Blues, who had the support of a big home crowd, stormed back from 33 points down at the last change to within seven, before St Kilda steadied.

"It was going to be a test of character for us and I thought we came through the test, which was really important," Lyon said.

"Our last quarter last week (against North Melbourne) was really good on a really big ground, it was a really big ground so we're getting more and more confidence in our running."

It was the third successive win for the Saints, following victories against Fremantle and the 'Roos, with all of those matches being in the balance in the final term.

Those wins came after what now seems to have been a turning point in their season - the shock decision to drop stars Nick Dal Santo and Stephen Milne and blood three debutants for the Fremantle match.

Lyon said the club's ability to climb back into the eight since that time and build their best winning streak of the season so far had been mainly about hard work.

"It's not about quantum leaps, if you keep putting your shoulder to the grindstone and keep turning the wheel, eventually it will come your way," he said.

"It was a tough position for us and it still is a tough position, we're certainly not sitting on 12 wins.

"But our work ethic and morale through that period has seen us to a point where we've now got our destiny in our own hands again."

Significantly, Dal Santo and Milne have returned for the past two games to make important contributions, with Milne kicking five goals on Friday night to go with his four against the Kangaroos.

But Lyon said the Saints' move into the eight did not mean much yet.

"It's fleeting really isn't it ... all it means is we've won and we get an opportunity with seven games to go to control our own destiny, that's really what it means," he said.

"We've got a really formidable opposition in Hawthorn next week and they're a measuring stick at the moment, so we'll see where we're at.

"But the group really enjoyed being on the MCG (Friday night) in front of a big crowd, it was really pleasing for the players and the club that we've got ourselves in that position."

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