The tough year for Myrtleford’s A grade squad continued on Saturday, but there are some green shoots.

The Saints succumbed to a 34-goal loss to Wodonga Raiders, 41-75 at McNamara Reserve, but it is an improvement on their last loss to Wodonga Raiders back in April.

Despite being heavily outscored in the first and fourth terms, the Saints were playing some exciting netball.

Their second quarter was by far their best, when they were outscored by just five goals, a tremendous effort to keep pace with one of the top teams in the league.

Coach Olivia La Spina said while they didn’t get the win, they accomplished some team goals they set before the match.

“We had a really clear goal on the weekend to reduce the margin from the last time we play Raiders,” she said.

“They're such a high-scoring team and do so with pace, so we knew we had to equal play just as quick and get goals up early.

“Our first quarter, although there was a deficit, we were really happy with how we were travelling.

“Our midcourt worked tirelessly all day, and although Raiders are a tough outfit I thought our midcourters stood tall with minimal errors.

“Our defence end was chopped and change to ensure we were trying to slow down Raiders attack.

“Nimah Thorn kept tall all day in GK, ultimately receiving a best on court award again, while Tayla Cartwright and Tina Way worked well out the front of Niamh, creating the talk and pressure we needed.

“Despite the scoreline we were really happy with our performance - we met our team goals and felt as a team we have certainly grown since round three which was evident on the weekend.”

While the Saints currently sit in the bottom three of the competition, La Spina said ladder position was far from their minds.

“Obviously at this stage of the season we would love a few extra wins under our belt, but we know we are running our own race,” she said.

“We've been really happy with the exposure of our juniors in A grade and I can't commend our core A grade group enough for the work rate they put in each week.

“We know we can scalp a few wins as we head into the final part of the year”

In other results from the weekend, the 17 and under side produced a stunning 45-42 win over the previously undefeated Raiders, while the under 15s lost 32-49, B grade went down 40-63, and C grade came up short 29-62.