The Bloods suffered a 91-point thumping at the hands of reigning premier Koroit but, unlike previous big losses for his team, Sargeant said there was little more his side could have done to counter the red-hot Saints.

“I think we just came up against the best side in the competition by a long, long way,” he said.

“We tried our hardest, there’s no worries about that. I don’t think too many other sides in the competition would’ve been able to stop that.”

The Saints held the Bloods to just three goals by three-quarter-time while piling on 19 of their own at Terang Recreation Reserve in the perfect balance of defence and attack and went on to win 21.18 (144) to 8.5 (53).

Koroit sharpshooter Marcus Darmody starred with nine majors, while Damian O’Connor kicked three goals against his old team.

Saints coach Chris McLaren was rapt with the result, noting his team was wary of the Bloods’ propensity for producing their best against the top teams.

“They seem to be able to get themselves up for the good times – Port Fairy, Warrnambool, North Warrnambool Eagles – and now Damian is playing for us, it’s a bit more incentive,” he said.

“For three quarters, it was as good as we’ve played all year.”

But the Bloods won the last quarter, kicking five goals to two to narrow the gap a little at the last.