The match will be a great opportunity for the Horsham Demons and Minyip-Murtoa to assess where they are at early in the season.

Demons coach Deek Roberts will back his side’s defensive pressure to again put his side in a strong position.

“If we can apply similar constant pressure on the ball carrier defensively then we will give ourselves every chance of winning,” he said. “We’ve got the talent to put scores on the board but we haven’t been putting teams away at this point. It’s our defensive pressure that has led to us being in a good position.”

A young group of talented footballer has helped the Demons remain relevant this season after the loss of several stars. Roberts said he was not surprised by how they had performed given the hard work that had been done during pre-season.

“It has been great to watch them step-up,” he said.

“There are quite a few that are still getting used to the level required as well but they still aren’t looking out of place.”

Winning the ball at the contest will go a long way to determining the side that comes out on top.

Roberts said his side will need to break even at the contests at the very least because the Burras have such a strong midfield group.

“It doesn’t need to be pretty or fancy we just need to be able to work the ball forward,” he said. “Basic football will win you a lot of games.”

Minyip-Murtoa coach Damian Cameron said his side had not been at its best through the middle of the ground in recent rounds.

“We haven’t really been able to get on top through the middle,” he said.

“Horsham still have a number of quality players running through the middle and we’ll need to be better in order to challenge a side that is undefeated.

“If we want to show that we are a real contender again than this is the sort of game we need to get ourselves up for.”

A number of Burras players will be in contention to return to the side after injury layoffs.

Kieran Delahunty is also likely to lineup having missed the Wimmera’s interleague match against Bellarine.

“He just had a bit of a sore calf after getting a corky a couple of weeks back,” he said.

“We thought he’d be right to go but obviously he pulled up a little sore, but he’ll certainly be right to go on Saturday.

“There are also a few more guys who have put their hands up for selection and that competition within the squad is great to have – I’m excited for Saturday’s match.”