The Southern Saints have cemented second spot on the VFL Women’s Ladder after defeating the Casey Demons in Sunday’s Pride Cup. 

Defensive duo Tilly Lucas-Rodd and Rebecca Neaves, and midfielder Courtney Jones all played important roles as the Saints came away with a 5.14 (44) to 2.3 (15) victory. 

Midfielder Sam Johnson was also pivotal, casting aside illness to lead the Saints to a hard-fought win.

Debutant Isabella Shannon and fellow youngster Molly McDonald showed glimpses of their potential, with the pair both already signed to the AFLW list for 2020.

The opening stanza was end-to-end stuff as both sides found their rhythm, but it was the Saints who made the most of their chances.

Leading forward Bohanna bagged the first of the game as she ran onto a bullet from Kate Shierlaw five minutes into the contest. 

Casey looked to get the ball to their end of the ground, but the Saints’ defence was on red alert and cleared any danger. 

The Saints made it a 15-point ball game five minutes into the second term, as Hannah Stuart hit the scoreboard.

While the Saints locked the ball inside their forward half, inaccuracy in front of goal resulted in just five behinds.

At the other end, a well-read intercept mark by Lucas-Rodd and a desperate chase by Neaves helped the Saints head to the main break with a 19-point advantage. 

After going goalless in the first half, Casey responded with a goal two minutes into the third term.

But after a spell of stoppages, the Saints’ eventually broke away with two quick goals through Bohanna and Courtney Jones.

The fourth term saw a physical affair as both sides put the pressure on and refused to give an inch. 

Casey looked to score first, but a clever mark by Jones stopped any threat. 

After piling on pressure for most of the quarter, the Saints’ finally got their reward two minutes from the full-time siren as McDonald converted. 

Casey responded when they converted a 50-metre penalty to make the scores 44-15. 

Coach Peta Searle said she was pleased with how the team had nullified Casey. 

“Our midfielders did a great job to stop their scoring in the first half ,” she said.  

“They had to change their whole structure, so that played into our hands a bit more. 

“I think our girls again for two weeks in a row have sustained their efforts for four quarters around the contest, offence and defence.

“It just shows that over the last couple of weeks that our method does stand up, our oppositions scrap goals or get goals from technical free kicks. 

“So it goes to show that our method behind the ball and in front of the ball is working well and our midfielders are competing hard.” 

Searle is hoping the Saints can continue their momentum when they face Essendon at Windy Hill in Round 13. 

“It’s not about who we are playing, it’s about what we are trying to achieve and where we are trying to go,” she said. 

“It is about continuing that momentum especially when you get towards finals...but we just want to keep getting better. 

“We know there are finals, but we also know that there is a gap between the VFLW and AFLW, and we’ve got to try to get as many of our players closing that gap.”