In front of a home crowd at Apsley Recreation Reserve, the Saints came out of the blocks flat and found themselves in a 25-point hole at the main break.

A loss would have put the Saints all but out of top three contention and given the Rams, who were without coach Tim Friend, faint hope of sneaking into fifth place by the end of the year.

It would have been the first time this year that any team of the current bottom five had beaten any team of the current top five.

Coxon said he was extremely unhappy with his team's effort, and let them know and half-time.

"It's probably one of the best sprays I've ever given as a coach," he said.

"We had issues with a few of the boys not training properly in the week off, and that's what happens when you don't train - they weren't confident going in at the footy.

"In the second half we clicked into gear and our midfield got going."

Mat Cranage was one of the major positives for the Saints in his long-awaited return from an ankle injury.

He booted two goals and set up two more for the Saints.

Tim Clissold kicked four of his own, and ruckman Jeremy Kealy gave what Coxon described as one of the few four-quarter performances from the team.

An inspiring win was on the cards for Natimuk United after Friend was suspended for two games for comments posted on social media.

Greg Hamilton led the way up forward in Friend's absence with three goals and brothers Jono and Matt Lovel played well.

Youngster Alex Ridsdale finished with two goals, but the team itself could only manage one goal after the main break.