North Melbourne's VFLW team has inched closer to a finals berth with an upset win over the ladder-leading Southern Saints at Trevor Barker Beach Oval.

On a blustery Saturday morning by the bay, the Roos had the good fortune to kick with the wind in the first term.

Relentless around the contest (+8 tackles for the term), they were able to establish a healthy lead through majors to Zara Flanigan and Marli Klaumanns-Moller.

The territory battle flipped at the start of the second quarter, and the Saints were able to get on the board with a crafty snap from Margaret Kershaw.

As the term wore on, Jess Mourney's gut-running and connection with forward Felicity Theodore down the right saw the Roos punch through both the wind and the locals' wall.

Repeat entries resulted in a breakthrough goal to Kiara Delia, and the teams went into the rooms for half-time little closer than when they had emerged 20 minutes earlier.

Less than a minute into the third, Jennifer Guy set the tone for the term as she broke a tackle and put the ball deep into the Roos' forward 50.

Theodore gathered in the pocket, snapped around her body and Audrey Rhodes put her foot through the ball as it landed at the top of the square to take the lead out to 19 points.

Halfway through the term Mackie Sutcliffe made the most of a shanked Saints clearance to take the lead out to 25 points.

The game by then out of the ladder-leaders' reach, the teams grappled for another half an hour before the siren sounded on an upset for the ages.

"We knew if we were kicking with the wind (in the first term), which we were, we needed to really capitalise," North Melbourne coach Steph Binder told NMFC Media.

"We started really strong, we had 95 per cent time of the first quarter in our forward half … we didn't kick as many as we'd have liked, but we were confident with the way we were playing."

The coach added that Delia's goal late in the second term was a big contributor to the players' belief that they could close out the win.

"Kicking into that wind we had 28 per cent of the term in our forward half, compared to the five per cent we'd conceded to the Saints in the first," she explained.

"To get a goal … that was massive. When we went in at half-time the vibes were definitely up."

The coach pinpointed her players' ability to hold their positions and set up the ground as a defining factor.

Going into half-time the Kangaroos had eight more marks than their opponents, a significant gap in the swirly weather.

Ciara Fitzgerald (10 disposals, four marks) was the dominant link in the defensive chain, and set up her team's territorial advantage with the wind.

Jennifer Guy (22 disposals, five clearances) and Audrey Rhodes (14 disposals, 14 tackles) then swooped when the ball got to ground.

"We held our structure really well behind the ball, we didn’t get sucked in to try to equalise numbers," she recalled.

"As soon as they tried to clear it, our backs were really solid."

The result has brought the Roos within four points of the top six, with Darebin and Collingwood to come in their final two fixtures.

"We know to make the finals we've got to win both our games coming up," Binder acknowledged.

"(However) we've just knocked off top of the ladder! We're very confident in what we can do."

Saturday's victory also marked forward Emily Paterno's 100^th state league match.

Paterno first appeared in the former Victorian Women's Football League with St Albans Spurs, before spells with Williamstown in 2019 and Richmond in 2020.

Now into her second season at the Roos, she has swiftly won the respect and affection of her teammates and coaches.

"I could not speak highly enough of her on and off the field … she is spectacular," Binder marvelled.

"It's all the things she does that she doesn't get the stats for – she brings the ball to ground, she flies for everything, she's just a heart and soul player.

"I know her teammates really wanted to win for her."

NORTH MELBOURNE  2.3  3.4  5.4  5.4  (34)
SOUTHERN SAINTS      0.0  1.3  1.3  1.4  (10)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Flanigan, Klaumanns-Moller, Delia, Rhodes, Sutcliffe
Southern Saints: Kershaw

BEST
North Melbourne: Rhodes, Jones, Guy, Fitzgerald, Hicks, Klaumanns-Moller