A last-gasp play has given St Kilda a draw against the Western Bulldogs in their must-win AFL match at Telstra Dome.

With seconds left, Jason Gram's torpedo punt out of defence went more than 60m and Nick Riewoldt took an outstanding mark.

Riewoldt's shot for goal was touched behind to tie the scores at 12.13 (85).

The Western Bulldogs looked gone when they trailed by 23 points at 10 minutes in the last quarter, but they kicked the last four goals of the game to hit the front by a point.

Both Saints and Bulldogs are in the top eight, at least for now, after collecting two premiership points apiece for the draw.

Bulldogs tall utility Wayde Skipper took a towering mark on the goal line with less than two minutes left to put his side ahead for the first time since early in the second term.

Bulldogs veteran Chris Grant had a shot for goal on the three-quarter time siren and it was ruled as no score, although it looked as though the ball might have hit the post for a behind.

Daniel Giansiracusa kicked four goals for the Bulldogs, Riewoldt starred with three goals, Gram was outstanding and Sam Power of the 'Dogs played the game of his life to stifle Saints veteran Robert Harvey.

Bulldogs onballer Scott West, returning from injury, helped spark the comeback with a brilliant last quarter.

The Saints appeared to have stifled the Bulldogs' run in the final term when Stephen Milne goaled, but the score was disallowed because of a free against Fraser Gehrig.

The ball went down the other end of the ground and Andrejs Everitt goaled to bring the Bulldogs to within four points.

Coming off two thrashings from Geelong and West Coast, the Bulldogs abandoned their usual free-flowing game style.

They tried to strangle play through the midfield to stop the Saints' tall forwards Riewoldt, Gehrig and Justin Koschitzke and the ploy nearly worked.

Gehrig had a shocking night, with only one mark and a tackle.

His mark in the third term gave him a shot on goal, which was accurate, but like Milne's score in the last quarter it was disallowed after a free off the ball.

During the dramatic last term, Bulldogs skipper Brad Johnson left the field with a suspected hamstring injury and Saints onballer Steven Baker was helped off after being crunched.

It was a much-improved performance from the 'Dogs, who suffered an 87-point thrashing from West Coast a week ago and a 75-point thrashing the week before from Geelong.

They were 10th before this game, level on premiership points with ninth-placed St Kilda and top-eight teams Sydney and Essendon.

The draw briefly puts the 'Dogs and the Saints teams in the eight ahead of the Swans and Bombers.

The Saints suffered a blow before the first bounce when midfielder Luke Ball was a late withdrawal.

There has been speculation this season about Ball's fitness, with the club denying he is suffering from the groin condition osteitis pubis.

A Saints spokesperson said adductor tightness had forced Ball out of the game.

The umpires were booed at the end of the game and Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade made it clear he was unhappy with their performance.

Eade did not see Grant's shot at goal at three-quarter time and said he would bring that up with the AFL umpiring department, among other unspecified matters.

"No-one mentioned it to me and I didn't see it, so I will have to bring that up with the umpiring department, probably with a few other things," he said.

He was pleased with his team's performance, particularly the last-term comeback.

"Both sides are going to say 'we could have', and 'what if' and 'maybe'....but the reality is, we ended up with two points," he said.

"We came here to win, obviously the way we prepared and planned and players carrying out their roles, it was very pleasing.

"We made a few mistakes at times that cost us goals....but I think the biggest thing was to be able to fight back, (we) showed a grit the whole night after the previous two thrashings."

Eade pointed out the drawn result could prove a massive boost for both teams, who probably need three wins from their last four games to finish in the top eight.

"It's like not winning, but having an enormous percentage boost, isn't it? - if we win three, we're 12 and a half (wins)," he said.

"It keeps us alive for another week."

He also praised his players for adapting to the different game style.

"Players were prepared to sacrifice themselves and I suppose we haven't done that a lot," he said.

"We seem maybe to take teams on a bit, so obviously we changed the mindset a bit of the group."

Lyon was also philosophical after the match, agreeing two points were better than none.

"Obviously their last two weeks haven't been great, but we knew it would be tough tonight - the season is on the line for both teams.

"You'd rather have two points than no points, that's the bottom line.

"I don't know what it was like as a spectacle, but it's not a bad opener to the round.

"We've lost once since the (mid-season) break, that's a positive, and we've got four games to prove how good a team we are or aren't."

He said Gehrig would bounce back from his shocker.

"It's pretty hard to wrap it, but Fraser has been in super form," Lyon said.

"He'll bounce back, I've got no doubt."

Lyon also made it clear one or two Saints players will come under scrutiny from their coach for the off-the-ball frees that cost the side crucial goals.

"Over two hours, it's hard to single it down to anyone," Lyon said.

"Sitting here at the minute, am I happy with some of our discipline off the ball? No.

"Can I fix it now? No. Can I address it during the week? Yes."

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