The bye gave players plenty of rest and a chance to recuperate before the run to the finals, in which the Rats hope to play a major part.

However, before any of this can be considered the Rats have four home and away matches to concentrate on, the first against an injury riddled Diggers' outfit.

Last time the teams met the Rats escaped with a 26 point win, but not before being challenged by the Diggers for three quarters.

Since then the Diggers have been hit hard by the injury curse with Josh Mibus suffering a horrific facial injury during the interleague campaign, and Luke Chamberlain also going down with both set to miss the rest of the season.

Mibus was the obvious match-up for Rats centre half forward Mick Fratin, with the pair enjoying plenty of entertaining battles in previous encounters.

Shannon Argall is a ready-made replacement for this job, but Fratin has experience on his side and it also takes away some of Argall's attacking flair that has been so important for the Diggers this season.

Ararat is not without its worries however, as North Ballarat Rooster Jarrod Searle has injured his hamstring and is expected to miss one to two weeks while Jonno Milosevic will be unavailable for up to a month.

The Rats have won their last three encounters and are determined to keep winning for a chance at third spot at finals time.

Rats' senior coach Scott Turner recognises that it is an important month for his young side.

"At training I spoke to the group about making 100 percent commitment for the next four weeks, both on and off the track,'' Turner said.

"We have a good opportunity to set ourselves up for a big finals' series, but it is imperative to keep winning.''

The Rats are getting back towards full strength with Brendan Hinchliffe, Wade Robertson and Rohan Homburg all expected to be back in the team for this week's big game.

This will bolster the Rats' defence which has been solid.

Peter Thompson and Ben Harrison marshall the troops from the key positions and get great support from running players like Brad Harricks.

Thompson is expected to match up on dangerous Digger forward Jarred Combe this week, after the pair had an intriguing battle last time the team's met.

Dale Bligh will return to the midfield better for the run against Minyip Murtoa, joining BJ Burton and Alan Batchelor who have been tremendous for the Rats all season.

Digger ruckman Tim Wade has been arguably the Horsham team's best performer for the season and he will need to be held around the ground to allow the Rats' midfielders to get on top.

Up forward Fratin looms as a likely suspect for a bag of goals, while Josh Cunningham, Tom Cashin and Lachie Hamilton will provide too much marking power for the Digger defence.

Playing for the `Colonel's Cup' the Rats have too much to play for and should win, but will need to be wary of a Digger outfit that is more than capable of causing an upset.