St Albans capped off a strong first half of the Western Region Football League season in style with a 23-point win over Altona on Saturday.
The Saints kicked seven goals in the first term to jump to a four-goal lead by quarter-time.
Altona had more scoring opportunities in the second quarter, but St Albans remained in control with another four goals of their own to extend the lead to 27 by the main break.
The Vikings continued to work hard in the second half but there was no stopping the Saints in front of their home crowd as they prevailed 19.9 (123) to 15.10 (100).
Saints coach Marcus Barclay was happy with a win against a dangerous opponent.
“It was very pleasing,” he said. “We got four or five goals in front about three or four times and just couldn’t kick the next couple.
“[Altona] fought hard and it became goal for goal in the last three quarters.
“We’ve jumped out of the blocks quite well all year. We just need to maintain it now and that will be the plan for the next nine weeks.”
On what was a tough day for his side, Trent Rafferty worked hard for Altona to be one of the Vikings’ best players, while James Flack did most of the damage for Altona with four goals.
Meanwhile, the Saints enjoyed an even performance across the field with 12 players scoring at least one goal.
The win opens up a 12-point gap between fourth-placed Saints and seventh-placed Altona, which is one of three sides with a 3-6 record putting it two games outside the top five.
St Albans will take on unbeaten Deer Park, while Altona meets Albion in round 10 this weekend.
In other division 1 results from last weekend, Albion beat Port Melbourne, Deer Park edged out Hoppers Crossing, Spotswood was too strong for Sunshine, and Werribee Districts accounted for Yarraville-Seddon.
