At a glance:

• Peta Searle says her young Saints will be keen to "get better fast" following Sunday's loss to North Melbourne.
• The Roos kicked away in the final term with two goals, despite the competitive Saints putting down the clamps through their tackle pressure.
• Georgia Patrikios, Tyanna Smith and Rhi Watt were among the Saints' best performers for the day.

St Kilda AFLW coach Peta Searle says the lessons taken from Sunday’s sobering loss to North Melbourne will spur her young side on to “get better fast”.

The Saints held sway with the Roos after conceding the first two goals of the game, before falling away in the second half as their opposition’s experience and cleanliness cut through in the 5.6 (36) to 1.4 (10) result.

“North are an outstanding side in terms of their list… but our girls are disappointed and rightly so, because they want to be better than what they produced,” Searle said.

“They got the jump on us in the first quarter. I actually felt we only really played one quarter of footy the way we want to play, and we demonstrated that when we play that way, we can match it with the best.

Georgia Patrikios (27 disposals) and Tyanna Smith (16 disposals, one goal) led majority of the Saints’ charge through the middle, while defensive leaders Hannah Priest and Cat Phillips (a combined 39 touches and 15 tackles) ensured their side remained competitive.

Fellow co-captains Rhi Watt and Kate Shierlaw similarly stood tall, with the latter a prominent marking option (eight marks, four contested) moving into attack.

But absences of fluid transition and clean entries inside-50 hurt the Saints throughout the afternoon, despite Searle’s troops registering more forward entries (25-27) and contested possessions (101-109) than North Melbourne.

Turnovers were dead even at 58 apiece.

“We got really good looks when we started to lower our eyes, but then when (North) put the pressure on we went long again,” Searle said.

“It’s just a matter of our girls growing, absorbing pressure and still being composed in what we’re trying to do.

“What can you say? We can learn from it – hopefully we do – and hopefully we keep growing.

“Were we happy with our performance? No. Do we know that we’re a better team than what we were today? Yes, and our girls are committed to not rely on ‘we’re only second year in’ or ‘we’re only an expansion side’.

“We’re keen to get better and to get better fast.”