Horsham Saints senior coach Ben Knott has been pleased with his side's hunger as it returns from a bye to face the Burras at Murtoa Recreation Reserve for round seven of the WFNL on Saturday, June 1.
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"There's plenty of spirit and energy out on the [training] track," Knott said.
Despite both sides dealing with injuries coming into the contest, Knott is wary of what the Burras could bring, particularly forward of the football.
"If they've got all available, their forward line is definitely a handful with Oscar Gawith, Tanner Smith and Jye Walter if he's fit," he said.
"But I think we need to go back to focusing on us a little bit, and we've probably gone away from that... We need to get back into that so we can string a bit of consistency together."
The clash will also be the first time Corey Morgan will face his old side after he moved to Coughlin Park before the 2024 season.
"We can have a chat about different players, but with their new coach [Gareth Hose], there will be a different game plan," Knott said.
"He's just looking forward to the challenge of coming up against his old side."
Morgan has started to impact the scoreboard more in recent weeks; he kicked four goals against Ararat in round five.
"He's, he's had a few good weeks; he started getting his hands on the footy a bit more... Now he's starting to get the [goal kicking] radar on too," he said.
Minyip Murtoa will look to bounce back after a tough loss to the Rats in round six.
Ararat responded early in the fourth term after the Burras got within a goal after it trailed by three at the last change.
Dimboola v Ararat
Dimboola will be out to respond after a heavy defeat in round six but will have to do so against the ladder-leading Rats.
The Roos will have to find multiple avenues to goal to get on top of a strong Ararat defence.
Key forward Jackson Calder is second in the league with 21 goals (only behind Tom Williamson), but the next players in green and gold to appear on the leaderboard are Jordan Waite and Andrew Moore, with five goals.
However, the key will be the midfield battle, with Moore and Dylan Landt facing Jake Robinson, Ben Taylor and Williamson.
"He was good last year, but he's stepped it up to another level this year," Ararat co-coach Tom Mills said of Williamson.
"If you watch him play, he's got his own ball, really; he is hard to stop."
Ararat comes into the contest after a three-goal win over Minyip Murtoa.
Stawell v Warrack
The Warriors will look to rebound from its first loss of the season when Warrack travels to Central Park.
Stawell started strongly at City Oval before being held to only one goal in the second half against Horsham.
Jakob Salmi featured in the best and was one player that senior coach Tom Eckel singled out despite having largely a team focus.
"He's [Salmi] had a pretty good start to the season," Eckel said.
Ash Driscoll will also be better for having a game under his belt after not having played since round three.
Warrack will hope to bottle its first half from its round-six match.
Matt Walder's side kicked seven first-half goals before being held to four in the second.
Forward Charlie Wilson has added 10 goals in six games, whilst defender Riley Morrow's run off half-back has been crucial.
Nhill v Southern Mallee
It will be a battle of two in-form forward lines when the Tigers and Thunder face off at Davis Park.
Nhill kicked 100 points for the first time this season in round six, while the Thunder recorded a second-straight 100-point win.
Tigers senior coach Jake McQueen has impressed in the forward 50 in recent weeks, with 11 goals in the last three games.
The Thunder have had an even spread of goal kickers.
Brad Lowe booted six goals for Southern Mallee, while five others kicked at least two goals.
A win for Nhill would keep them in touch with the top five, while a Thunder victory would be its fourth straight.