Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson claimed an interchange error paid against his side in Friday night's AFL draw against St Kilda was too severe a penalty and changed the game.

The Hawks were poised to go 13 points up when Cyril Rioli kicked what was about to be awarded a goal with two minutes left at Etihad Stadium.

But the score did not count and the Saints were awarded the ball and a 50-metre penalty because Hawk defender Grant Birchall infringed in the interchange area.

The Saints rushed the ball forward for Nick Riewoldt to kick a behind, and then with 12 seconds left ruckman Ben McEvoy took possession out of a stoppage and kicked a goal which levelled the scores.

Hawthorn finished on 13.9 (87) to St Kilda's 14.3 (87) in one of the games of the season for its closeness, entertainment and drama.

But Clarkson was annoyed the Hawks were effectively denied victory because of Birchall's infringement.

Hawthorn were unsure exactly how Birchall infringed. He either stepped over or outside the line marking the interchange area when he should not have.

But Clarkson could not hide his disappointment.

"The disappointment, I suppose, is the severity of the penalty," he said.

"There's a blade of grass in it if there's an infringement or not and to cop such a severe penalty and have the game change and 50,000 people in the stadium not knowing what's going on with the game, and an orange flag being waved.

"No one really knows what the infringement was and it had no bearing on the outcome of the game in terms of one step over the line, if that was what happened.

"That rule was introduced to try to stop blatant (examples of having) 19 men on the ground ... and this is hardly blatant.

"We've just got to learn to deal with it and get on with it unfortunately."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP