Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson says AFL followers don't want to see games decided by severe punishments for minor offences.

And his St Kilda counterpart Ross Lyon has questioned whether the side with the ball can be stripped of possession if its runner is deemed to get too close.

In a dramatic game that finished dead level, Clarkson had complaint with two costly infringements in Friday night's draw with the Saints at Etihad Stadium.

First Hawks forward Lance Franklin gave away successive 50-metre penalties which led to a St Kilda goal, and then with two minutes remaining, Hawthorn were denied a goal because of a breach of the interchange rules.

Hawthorn were about to go 13 points up when Cyril Rioli kicked truly, but the goal did not count because Hawk defender Grant Birchall incorrectly stepped outside the line marking the interchange area.

As a result, St Kilda won the ball back and got it forward and scored a behind through Nick Riewoldt and soon after a goal through Ben McEvoy.

McEvoy's goal with 12 seconds left took the Saints to 14.3 (87) to Hawthorn's 13.9 (87).

Clarkson said the interchange breach was a massive penalty to pay for a minor infringement, as the interchange rules were changed in 2008 to ensure no teams ever had 19 players on the ground, like Sydney did (briefly) during a draw with North Melbourne.

Clarkson said Franklin's double whammy, when he conceded one 50-metre penalty for pushing opponent Zac Dawson and another for knocking the ball out of the Saint's hands, was also too tough.

"I don't reckon supporters and coaches want games of footy to be decided on significant penalties like that, but we live and learn and we move on," he said.

"We copped two harsh ones over the course of the night and we get on with it."

Lyon also felt his side was harshly dealt with, as the Saints were stripped of the ball in the third quarter, just as Justin Koschitzke was lining up for goal, because their runner was deemed to be too close to the action.

Lyon was angry his runner was so close, but questioned whether the Saints should have been penalised.

"Did he go through the mark or was he near it?" he said.

"I'm not too sure you can ping your own runner when you're having a shot.

"I don't know. There's all those AFL rules and regulations everyone will look into."

Although the game was a classic, the umpires had an impact, as they awarded 56 free kicks and eight 50-metre penalties.

The draw was the second this season after Collingwood and Melbourne finished level in round 12, but neither Lyon or Clarkson were interested in discussing the potential of extra time being introduced in the home and away season.

The Etihad Stadium surface was also clearly an issue as players kept slipping over across the ground, but neither side had any complaint.

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