Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse and St Kilda counterpart Ross Lyon were stumped as they pondered how to rebound from the fallout of the first drawn AFL grand final in 33 years.

The two normally authoritative figures both sounded slightly bewildered after a gallant Saints comeback and wasteful Magpies kicking conspired to leave them tied, Collingwood 9.14 (68) to St Kilda 10.8 (68), and set to return to the MCG next Saturday.

The gruelling, gripping contest, in front of 100,016 spectators, was the first drawn VFL/AFL grand final since Collingwood-North Melbourne in 1977, when the Magpies fell the following week, while Melbourne and Essendon staged the only other in 1948.

Remarkably, the Saints and Magpies have now met twice in grand finals, and both have been decided by a wobbly St Kilda kick which registered a behind as the last score of the contest.

In 1966, it was Barry Breen as St Kilda won by a point to gain their sole premiership, while on Saturday it was midfielder Lenny Hayes, whose long, scrambled kick bounced through to level the scores with 90 seconds remaining.