The side has held onto its position at the top of the 2019 Wimmera League ladder, counting only one loss, and will face off with the Southern Mallee Giants at Alexandra Oval, Ararat this Saturday.

Riley Taylor has been with the Rats since his under-14 days, and said the side is on an upward trajectory.

"Especially last year and this year the senior ranks have definitely improved both on and off the field," he said.

"I think that's got a lot to do with the coach and the commitment of the players.

"We've had great junior success in the past so hopefully senior success is just around the corner."

Both the Giants and the Rats made it through to finals last year and Taylor said his focus will be on speed and distance in this round.

He is predominantly a wingman.

"They key for me will be running and to try and be as open as I can," he said.

"That's (also) the key for the team - we're a quick running team so if we can run and link up hopefully it will go a long way in helping us."

It will be a test of the Rats' strategy, which has won them four of five games this season.

"We know if we can play our style of football we can hopefully give them a run for their money, but they've got some good players from around Ballarat and Melbourne and I'm not too sure how many of them are coming back this year.

"But hopefully we can have a good clash."

It was too early to think about the possibility of a premiership, Taylor said.

"Finals is obviously a big goal and we've put a big emphasis on trying to duplicate what we did last year, but we don't really want to get complacent or too ahead of ourselves," he said.

"We just want to take each game as it comes. Football is a funny sport - anything can happen."

Taylor is in good form, and has remained injury free except for a dislocated shoulder in 2017.

"I came back pretty quick from that," he said.

He also praised the side's coach, Shane Fisher for making football fun again.

"He's been fantastic," Taylor said.

"He's got lots of Victorian Football League experience behind him from his time at North Ballarat and he brings the fun back into football a bit too.

"A lot of coaches can be really serious - it's football and that's it. But Shane is a real people person as well, and he always has time to talk to people.

"It just makes football a lot more enjoyable."

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox each Friday morning from The Ararat Advertiser. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from Ararat and districts, sign up here.