Saints players wore black armbands in honour of clubmate Dylan Pryor, whose funeral they attended a day earlier, and stood side by side for a minute’s silence before the game.

‘‘We played well today,’’ Morgan said.

‘‘It’s a credit to our blokes. (Pryor’s death) took a big toll on the club this week.

‘‘I feel affected personally and I’m sure the boys do, too. That was massive and I could not be prouder of the boys.’’

The match ended on a sour note, with Tiger Sam Frawley’s late hit on Benalla teenager Nick Mellington sparking an all-in brawl that lingered well beyond the final siren.

Mellington was motionless on the ground for several seconds before trainers helped him up.

The wild scenes were a talking point, but the Saints’ stunning performance — starting with a centre clearance then goal to raging bull Nick Warnock (four majors) inside the first minute — stole the show.

Benalla still has a huge three weeks ahead against Kyabram, Shepparton United and Mooroopna, but most are surely convinced of the Saints’ ‘‘real deal’’ status. They ran harder and were a more decisive and cohesive unit than Rochester, which finds itself back in the pack and unsure of where it sits in the pecking order.

Tigers coach Peter White said there would be some soul searching at the club.

‘‘We’ll have a deep think about it in the next few days,’’ White said.

‘‘We have a big clash next week now with Shepp United. Our second half was a lot better and the scores were pretty even after half-time.

‘‘But we were just second to the footy, particularly in the first half, when they set the tone.’’

White was complimentary of Benalla’s spread and willingness to work for one another, but bemoaned his players’ reluctance to use the first option when in possession.

One sequence late in the second term summed up the sides’ fortunes.

Rochester forward Grant Weeks, who was far from his team’s worst, turned the ball over kicking inside 50.

The Weeks error followed teammate Luke Gestier’s bizarre decision moments earlier to try to handball through traffic after marking just outside 50m.

The Saints accepted Weeks’ gift and rushed the ball down the other end to an uncontested Alistair Jacka, who kicked the second of his three goals.

The half-time siren sounded as Jacka’s kick sailed through.

Benalla, which had a remarkable 32 handball receives in the second quarter, was 39 points up after the Tigers twice drew within 16 with goals in the term.

A Shayne McKean party trick, where he captured the ball and kicked a major over his head, blew the Saints’ buffer out to 45 not even a minute after resumption.

Rochester even suffered the ignominy in the third term of conceding a goal — Warnock’s fourth — after over-stepping on the kick-out.

Even so, the Tiger spirit shone through in their ability to fight their way back into some sort of contention early in the final quarter.

Weeks then Dylan Cuttriss slotted majors to cut Benalla’s lead to 30 then skipper Elliot Bowen, who went forward from his defensive post in the second half, lined up for another.

Bowen’s shot faded late and hit the post, leaving Rochester 28 points adrift at the 11-minute mark before the Saints steadied.

Sam Martyn was Benalla’s top contributor on a day it had many. He won a stack of the ball, kicked two goals and did plenty defensively, too.

Jacka returned to being the player who won the Saints’ best-and-fairest award last year, Harry Moran kept Weeks to two goals, James Martiniello starred in close and Morgan, as usual, was the Saints’ midfield heartbeat.

Youngsters Ben McPhee, Nathan McCarty and Dillon Williams were the strongest-performing Tigers.

Benalla’s Jordan Daniel (corked hip) and Rochester’s Brayden Dorrington (thigh) sustained injuries.