The side was similarly positioned on the ladder at this point in the 2017 season before eventually winning a thrilling grand final by one goal against Minyip-Murtoa a little over a month later.

Saints coach Shannon Reinheimer said she often reminded the team about last season in order to raise belief within the group.

“We refer back to that all the time to remind ourselves that we are capable of competing against the really good teams,” she said.

“It allows us to have the belief that we can do it again.”

The Saints will have a vastly different side on court to the one which lost 59-30 to the Warrack Eagles in round eight.

Warrack Eagles coach Jane Richardson said she expected a tough contest.

“They are really starting to come home strong,” she said.

“They’ve been playing well with those few inclusions that they’ve had since the last time we played them.

“Our defensive unit is pretty good and we’ve got a few players to choose from to match up on Maggie Caris, but it’s not just Maggie and we need to have good all-court defence – which I think we do.”

Both sides have been able to score strongly in recent weeks. Megan Werner is likely to provide a headache for the Saints defensive combinations.

“The Warrack Eagles midcourt is so fast and drives onto the ring very well in order to feed the shooters,” Reinheimer said.

“That’s certainly a key aspect where we’ll need to be on our game.”

Minyip-Murtoa, Ararat and Dimboola will head into the remaining three matches on Saturday as favourites.

The Burras will travel to Stawell to take on the Warriors and the long road trip to Nhill is unlikely to faze Ararat.

Dimboola’s match against the Southern Mallee Giants should go the way of the Roos on form.