With the south-west battling intermittent rain and sunshine – but constant windy and freezing conditions – on Saturday, the Saints ground out a 35-34 win over the fourth-placed Eagles.

“It wasn’t a pretty game, that’s for sure,” Bowman said.

“It was fairly even all game. In the first half, they probably had the better of us and they probably scored off more turnovers than us.

“But in the second half we started to turn the ball over a bit more and converted off our turnovers.”

The Saints outscored the visitors by four goals in the third term, turning a two-goal half-time deficit into a two-goal lead at the final change.

They held on to win by one, weathering a concerted fight from the determined Eagles.

The win gave the Saints a 10-point buffer on the Eagles and some breathing space heading into the final month.

“We knew going into this game it was probably a must-win to keep third spot, which isn’t a given, especially as we’ve got Camperdown after the break,” Bowman said.

The terrible conditions might not have been to many netballers’ taste, but Bowman said they almost suited Carly Pulling – a “little hustler” – who was the Saints’ best on court.

Warrnambool bounced back after last week’s 20-goal loss to Camperdown with a 45-31 triumph over South Warrnambool.

Blues coach Emma Cust said it was a hard-fought win for her charges, who are still striving after their goal of making a return to finals.

“The win didn’t come easy for us – we had to really fight for it,” she said.

“We still have too many unforced errors with our passing and that sort of thing, but I think it was a pretty good effort.

“Our accuracy and our rebounds (improved) – and I think our working the ball down the court was a lot better.”

The Blues led by three goals at the first break and nine at half-time, before the Roosters chipped into the deficit in the third term. But Warrnambool finished strongly, dropping in 12 goals to five. The Blues are trailing fifth-placed Cobden by percentage alone.

A strong final quarter secured Portland’s fourth win of the season, with the Tigers shooting 13 goals to seven to defeat Terang Mortlake 40-32. The result saw the Bloods tumble from fifth to seventh.