With Purcell out through illness the Demons still managed to find plenty of avenues to goal with Shaun Bryce, Jak Payne and Andrew May booting five goals apiece.

“It was something we’d mentioned at the start of the year that we needed to find more avenues to goal,” Demons coach Josh Bode said.

“Aaron kicked 220-odd last year and the next best was 50.

“But it was a real good win.

“We started slow, which we’ve been doing recently.

“That’s a bit of a concern but our structures really came together in the second and third quarters.”

Once the first quarter was over, it all seemed to click into place for the Demons as they demolished the Saints, keeping them to just two goals in each quarter.

Ominously for the other sides in the competition, the Demons have been getting the job done even without the likes of Purcell and David Gregory.

“May has had an unbelievable month and Bryce is going really well,” Bode said.

“Brad Parker has been rucking well and Nick Keating in the midfield has been going great and there’s a lot of young kids coming through.

“It’s all gelling — there’s still a fair bit to work on but at the moment it’s going good.

“We’ve got more depth this year than we have had, and the thirds and seconds coming up to play senior footy are doing really well.”

The Saints started well enough, staying within one goal of the Demons.

Grant Martin and Brock May were named best for the Saints, while Kyle Johnstone, Justin Crawford, Daniel Boyd and Harley Middleton booted one goal each.