The win may prove costly, however, with key forwards Jesse Silver and Jake Plattfuss succumbing to injuries during the second and third quarters.

Silver will be sidelined for up to four weeks after tearing his right hamstring, while the extent of an ankle injury to Plattfuss has not yet been determined.

The Hawks opened promisingly, controlling the flow of play in the midfield, but ran into trouble going forward, with the Saints dropping loose players into their defensive 50m arc.

While Andy Hill and Jamie Allan racked up possessions at the stoppages, Myrtleford players continued to clog the Hawks’ forward line, with Luke and Josh Chapman constantly repelling the visitors’ attacks.

Still, the Hawks managed to accumulate four first quarter goals, but the Saints added two of their own and would have been in front but for the inaccuracy of full forward Blake Arnold, who kicked three behinds.

The Hawks continued to struggle to overcome the Saints’ flooding tactics in the second term, at times over-using the ball, missing targets, or failing to run to create options for teammates.

With a frosty breeze blowing down from Mt Buffalo, and the ground still slick from recent rain, conditions were far from ideal.

But the conditions were no excuse for the scrappiness of the game, with both sides failing to execute the basics, and only three goals scored for the quarter.

After a devastating season in which the club has failed to win a match, and the Saints’ two highest profile players, Ben Beams and Hayden Murray, unable to have any impact on the field due to knee injuries, Myrtleford’s willingness to engage itself in the contest during the first half was encouraging for the local fans.

The Hawks led by just three goals at halftime, a far cry from the round four encounter at WJ Findlay Oval, when the Saints went into the main break scoreless, trailing by 86 points.

The second half was a different story, however, throwing up eerie similarities to the first half of the round four match.

All of a sudden the Hawks broke free, and Allan, Andy Hill and Anthony Tucci began to exert their influence.

The work of Nigel and Ross Hill, along with Marcus Webb, led to a flurry of goals, while Tyson Hartwig, Matt Allen and John Conroy kept the Myrtleford forwards quiet.

The Hawks once again began to resemble something akin to the team that demolished Wodonga by 99 points a month ago, slamming on 6.6 in the third quarter, while their opponents could not get a look in, failing to trouble the scorers.

With Silver back in the rooms, the Hawks’ forward line lacked some cohesion in the final term, but the midfielders and defenders continued to go for the kill.

Sam Caruso made the most of his recall, as the 16 year old provided plenty of spark for the Hawks through the middle and up forward, helping his side eventually stroll to a comfortable 16.18 (114) to 3.4 (22) victory.

Written by - SCOTT ANDERSON.