ROSS Lyon might have just qualified for his first finals series since taking over the reigns of St Kilda at the start of 2007, but you wouldn't have known it.

The Saints' 48-point win over Adelaide on Sunday at Telstra Dome decided the teams which will finish in the top eight, leaving the Saints entrenched in seventh, and looking ahead to their fourth September campaign this decade.

"I haven't really given it any thought, really," Lyon said, when asked how he felt to be playing finals after beating the Crows.

"We've got round 22 to come. It's obviously pleasing for the club but coaches seem to be so short-term.

"We discussed after the game what we did wrong and where we need to improve, and it's an important seven days to recover.

"We really need to keep improving our football, and that's what today was about against a quality opposition. It was a really good challenge for us to see if we could back up after a trip to Subiaco."

With interstate elimination finals against the Sydney Swans or Adelaide possibilities, depending on the final make up of the top eight, Lyon could have been forgiven for placing additional importance on beating Essendon next Sunday.

"I haven't really looked ahead but there are a few scenarios that could occur, and coming into the game today I wasn't thinking about any of them," he said.

"But I'll go home and we'll assess tomorrow morning at the club, but we're looking for consistency within our football and we've got another opportunity to do that against Essendon.

"That's really the aim because playing finals, you want to go in feeling good about yourself."

Lyon lamented the Saints' sloppy start against the Crows, but praised the way they were able to overcome it.

"Our clearance work in the first quarter was poor; we got smacked around the clearances and our defence made some really bad errors and Adelaide was good enough to capitalise on them," he said.

"Once we started matching them around the clearances and lifting out tackle pressure, we got into the game.

"It was a strong team contribution that everyone will walk out the door thinking; 'I gave a bit today and when it wasn't going my way, I fought on'."

Midfielder Luke Ball is a chance to return to the side next weekend after missing the past three rounds with a hamstring injury.

"We'll have to let the week run its course. He was always aiming for round 22, so we'll see how his rehabilitation goes," he said.

"He is a good chance because it was a hyped injury when it happened. I almost drove off the south-eastern [freeway] when it was reported on radio that he'd torn it off the bone.

"The reality was it was a normal hamstring (injury), so we're hopeful (of) three weeks."