The Saints are sitting a game clear in first position, having lost just one match from the first nine rounds, while the fourth-placed Rats are desperate to claim a top three scalp and prove they are serious contenders in season 2015.

To achieve this on Saturday at Alexandra Oval, Ararat will have to overcome the odds without a number of first-choice senior players, with Jake Williamson (broken hand), Gordon Laurie (suspended), and Zander and James Laidlaw (unavailable) all missing.

On the plus, the Rats will welcome back key forward/ruckman Justin Summons and utility Brayden Ferguson, while young-gun Taine Pearse is set to make his debut after impressing in the reserves in recent weeks.

After recording back-to-back wins prior to the week's break, Ararat coach David Hosking is expecting the Rats to take plenty of confidence and belief into the clash against the current competition benchmark.

“Yes, it's a big challenge, but it would be a big challenge regardless of who we had out there,” Hosking said.

“I am looking forward to it actually - we are starting to play some better football and we trained well this week.

“It will be tough, but that's what makes it fun.”

For a number of years the Saints' physicality has monstered the Rats on-field, however Hosking said that is no longer the case nor will it be used as an excuse.

“We can now match anyone physically. We've got blokes like (Aaron) Searle, Justin, (Liam) Cavanagh, Ryan Bates, Jack Ganley and the like that can counteract that,” he said.

“We will need a lot to go right and we'll need to play at our absolute best, but they're not unbeatable.”

Taming Saints’ power forwards Jacob Cooke-Harrison (26 goals) and Gavin Kelm (24) is another obstacle Ararat must overcome if it is to claim its seventh victory of the season, but the Rats can fight fire with fire – also boasting a potent forward line, even in the absence of Laurie.

Mick Fratin will slot into the full-forward position and will find good support from Searle, Summons, Beau Cosson and rotating midfielders including Jake Robinson, Alan Batchelor and Harry Ganley.

With Ararat to face the top three teams in the next three weeks, the month of July could be make or break for the Rats’ season.

“We can't afford to look any further ahead than this week,” Hosking said.

“But in saying that, overall this block will be a good judge of where we are at as a team.”