History was made on Sunday afternoon as the Southern Saints claimed their first ever victory.

Led by four goals from Danielle Lawrence and a best-on-ground performance from Ali Drennan, the Saints sailed past Williamstown to claim a 29-point victory.

Drennan set the game alight from the very first minute, with her skill and agility an ever-present danger through the middle of the ground.

Peta Searle’s side appeared in control throughout, but they didn’t completely shrug off the Seagulls until Drennan goaled at the 10-minute mark of the final term.

Gallery: Southern Saints debut game

The Saints withstood strong early pressure from Williamstown and went to the quarter-time break in the lead, thanks to a goal from Tara Bohanna.

But then the floodgates opened, with the Saints piling on four goals in quick succession in a truly dominant second quarter.

Lawrence exerted her dominance up forward, kicking three majors including a running goal on the half-time siren.

The third quarter started in the same lively fashion, with Courteney Munn taking a strong overhead mark before finding Leah Olsen, who kicked truly to convert from 20 metres out.

Williamstown answered with a goal of their own just a minute later, before amplifying their pressure through the midfield and forcing the Saints to respond.

Composure and strong marking in the backline kept the Seagulls at bay for most of the third quarter, only yielding one goal close to three-quarter time from ex-Collingwood AFLW dynamo Jess Duffin.

Williamstown’s intensity held firm in the fourth quarter, but the Saints dug deep, desperate to post their first ever victory.

Rhiannon Watt’s dominance in the ruck continued, and when Drennan and Lawrence goaled inside three minutes, the Saints were home.

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Head coach Peta Searle said the historic win was due to hard work and perseverance.

“Williamstown came out each quarter and hit us hard for 10 minutes, but our girls were able to sustain that and keep going for 20 minutes,” she said.

“If you look at it, you’d probably see that we scored more heavily in the bottom half of each quarter than the top half, and that’s just the result of the girls’ resilience and ability to grind it out.”

Despite the win, Searle maintains that the Southern Saints are less concerned with results, and more with commitment to processes and effort.

“The girls have put in a lot and I think they deserve to have the win because of the preseason that they’ve had and all the running they’ve done,” Searle said.

“What we want the girls to do is, regardless of outcomes and results, we know every one of them has something special and as long as they keep believing in what they’ve got, that’s the main thing.”