St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt put aside a week of illness to honour Lenny Hayes and show true leadership in a 16-point AFL win over Brisbane.

Riewoldt had to leave the ground several times during the tight match at Etihad Stadium on Saturday and looked in severe discomfort thanks to a bout of tonsilitis.

But he kicked four goals, including a crucial score during the last quarter, as the Saints rallied to win 14.13 (97) to 13.3 (81).

It was a game challenge from the Lions, who led by nine points early in the last quarter, but Riewoldt and his team-mates were clearly determined that Hayes could celebrate his 200th game.

"It was an enormous effort, he probably wouldn't like me talking about it, he was in bed all week, he didn't train, was unlikely to play for most of the week with a virus, tonsilitis, so we played him close to goal," Saints coach Ross Lyon said of Riewoldt.

"I can talk about it now because he played well but he was always going to get out of bed for Lenny Hayes.

"He kicked those clutch goals ... it was a great captain's game today."

Fellow key forward Justin Koschitzke also kicked four goals and Lyon noted that Brisbane's two main goalkickers, captain Jonathan Brown and Daniel Bradshaw, only managed five between them.

"The two twin towers, we got eight, they got five, we know when Brisbane win Brown and Bradshaw get eight between them so it was significant that they stood up on a difficult day," Lyon said.

The Lions took the lead for the first time in the third term and a key reason was the move of Bradshaw into defence.

First-gamer Aaron Cornelius had struggled on Riewoldt and Koschitzke, but Bradshaw did some great work and Cornelius went forward to kick two goals in the third quarter.

While Mitch Clark did well in the ruck for Brisbane, the work of Saints ruckmen Steven King and Michael Gardiner was eventually crucial.

King and Gardiner took control in the final term as the Saints belted Brisbane at the centre breaks.

Their work has also meant Koschitzke can stay permanently in attack, forming a lethal duo with Riewoldt.

The Lions obviously missed defenders Joel Patfull and Daniel Merrett, who are injured.

Lions coach Michael Voss had mixed emotions post-match - pleased about his side's ability to push one of the league's pacesetters but still dirty that the opportunity went begging.

"We walk away from the game exceptionally disappointed with the fact that we had a genuine opportunity to knock off a top-two side and we weren't able to finish it," he said.

"We've made some really strong progress - in the early part of the year, we couldn't hit the side of a barn inside 50 and now we're being a bit more precise when we're coming forward."

Lyon paid tribute to Hayes, saying the midfielder had overcome a lot of adversity in his career and shown great character.

"He's a beauty, he's a great person and I don't say that lightly," Lyon said.

"Lenny Hayes really lives the doctrine of great footballer, great person."

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