On top of the fierce rivals battling for the traditional Perce Bushby Cup, the senior match will be staged under lights at Alexandra Oval the first time the new $3.8 million facilities will host Wimmera Football action.

Rats' coach David Hosking said the added additions make for a blockbuster game.

"It is pretty big isn't it. All of those elements combine to make what should be a pretty important night for both clubs," he said.

"After starting with a win, which was really good, we have now got to build on that."

Ararat's thrilling five point victory over the Warrack Eagles last week came at a cost, with an already long injury list growing.

Brayden Ferguson is a definite omission after doing damage to his ankle, while Hosking said star forward Aaron Searle (knee) almost certainly won't be ruled fit and a question mark remains on Zander Laidlaw (ankle) as well.

If Tom Williamson is called upon by the North Ballarat Rebels, things could turn tricky for Hosking at the selection table.

Recruit Gordon Laurie is a potential inclusion after being unavailable last week, while Bernie Peoples is not too far away from returning from injury.

"It is going to be a balancing act," Hosking said.

"With the injuries that we are facing it is going to make for a really tough game.

"I am confident enough in the rest of the boys and their fitness levels that last week's tough win won't have an effect, and I'd actually like to think they will be even better off after getting some belief out of the result."

If Ararat is to make it two from two, the task will begin in the centre with the onballers led by Jake Robinson, Alan Batchelor, Beau Cosson and Riley Taylor.

Against the Eagles, Taylor’s run and carry on the wing was a standout and the young gun should find plenty of space to do the same at Alexandra Oval tomorrow night.

Ruckman Justin Summons also wasted little time having an impact in his debut in the red and white and the skilful tall will prove vital in feeding the midfield at stoppages around the ground.

“He is mobile, his tap work is very good and he is also very strong,” Hosking said.

“So this weekend when he gets into those body-on-body contests, particularly against blokes like Megsy (Shane) Field, I expect Justin to be able to hold his own nicely.

“The thing I noticed was his ability to direct the ball into good areas as well. He gives good direction of the midfield group in pressure situations.”

While he was satisfied with many of the key features of Ararat’s round one game, Hosking said the team’s composure is an area he will be looking for improvement in against the Warriors.

“I’m not too sure whether it was first game of the year nerves, but I think in the first quarter we wasted a lot of opportunities,” he said.

“Particularly this week against Stawell, we have got to really be sure we nail the opportunities that we create early because it sets the tone.

“If we had have kicked straighter and had more composure in the first quarter against Warrack then I think the end result could have been better and we wouldn’t have put that pressure on ourselves.

“Fifty metre penalties is the other aspect of last week that disappointed me. Although the majority of them weren’t from undisciplined or ridiculous acts, they were careless. 

“It certainly cost us at times — you can’t give them 250 metres and not expect it to have an impact on the scoreboard. We have to get better at that.”

Stawell is coming off a 72-point loss against Wimmera powerhouse Horsham a week ago.

With new names such as Scott Driscoll and returning players like James Delahunty and Luke Hendy, Hosking believes tomorrow’s opposition with have a bit of the unknown about them.

“It is hard to know. I picked them as one of the teams to certainly improve and I base that on their young group — I saw a lot of similarities between them and us,” he said.

“Apparently they have picked up some players that have perhaps given them a little bit more size and to be honest I think our ground will suit them just as much as it suits us.

“They are quite happy to run the ball and move it quickly, so we’ll have to be ready to go from the start.”