EIGHT goals from Horsham Saints full-forward Gavin Kelm led his side to a 37-point win against Nhill at Davis Park, Nhill, on Saturday.

Kelm booted more than half of the Saints’ goals – with the visitors narrowly extending their lead at each change in their 15.14 (104) to 8.19 (67) win.

Saints coach Shayne Breuer said it was pleasing to win with a number of players unavailable or injured.

“It was a good win – we had a fair few guys out, so to get the points was great,” he said.

“We probably got our noses in front and put some scoreboard pressure on early.

“We converted our chances and managed to hold them pretty well for most of the day.”

Mid-sized forward Les Butler also played a major role for the Saints, kicking five goals, while Pat Knott capped off another superb midfield performance with two majors.

Breuer said his side, which only called upon the three goal-kickers, made the most of its opportunities up forward.

“Our entries into the forward line were pretty good,” he said.

“I think we were slightly more effective up forward – they had a lot of opportunities but couldn’t convert, and our ball use is getting better.”

North Ballarat Rebels-listed player Keegan Mellington played his first senior game for the season after returning from injury, while Tom Pain and Kyle O’Connor also impressed the Saints coach.

The result leaves Nhill without a win from four games.

But Tigers coach Shane Grover believes his side is headed in the right direction.

“We were really competitive and had a good dip,” he said.

“We improved a lot so I was happy with that, but bad kicking let us down.

“I reckon we took a major step forward – we just have to get a bit more consistent and keep the effort up over four quarters.”

Grover praised midfielder Mat Jones and defender Ben Pollock for his shut-down role on key Saints forward Jacob Cooke-Harrison.

Tigers Sam Turmine and Liam Albrecht kicked two goals each, while full-forward Jared Wilson ended up with the Lance Franklin-like tally of 1.7.