The visiting Thistles regain Will Harper and Tom Pedley for the big-time clash, with coach Brayley Coombes admitting there will be no excuses with his side nearing full strength.

"It's a huge game in the context of ladder positions, we are pretty evenly poised both teams and the ladder depicts that so I think it will be a great contest and they probably owe us one after round two earlier in the year," Coombes said.

Scotch got the win there by 38 points, a fact that was on the mind of OLs coach Laine Cleaver before the match.

"We are looking for some redemption from that to even things up on our home ground," he said.

"They've been in some good form, we've been in some good form, so it's going to be a cracking game I think."

Cleaver could regain the likes of Tom Chugg, Jay Schulz, Alex Downie and Ezra Jackson for the clash, predicting at least six changes from his side's last contest.

ELSEWHERE IN SPORT

Two sides known for tight matches, East Coast and St Pats, add another chapter to their story at St Helens.

East Coast coach Gene Savage is eager to get back on his home ground and is hoping to use the next couple of weeks to get players back.

"We've always had good battles with St Pats and I'm assuming this will be no different," he said.

"The boys always get up for this sort of game and I'm sure St Pats will do the same, it's always an exciting game of footy to be involved in."

St Pats were defeated by two points in round one and despite facing a tough road trip, are excited by the prospect ahead with coach Jake Lowe liking the look of the big St Helens ground.

"We had a really good hit-out round one against them," Lowe said.

"They are strong, they are obviously fighting for a top-three spot as well and they've got some really good players that we have to watch."

Lowe gains Ryan Choveaux and Pat Rodman while losing Jed Steele and Jake Chamberlain.

Bridport and Evandale, two sides who have been decimated by injuries this season, face off as the Eagles come in feeling good.

Coach Sam Bouwman gets back on the park after several weeks off it and is raring to play football again after getting itchy feet on the sides.

"The break has certainly helped us, we have got a fair few back," he said.

"We are feeling reasonably confident, it's a good month for us to test how much improvement we've made after a poor start to the year."

While the rest has helped Evandale, Bridport coach Greg Latham wasn't so sure.

"Even though we've had the time off, we are still in a world of hurt with injuries but it is what it is, we've just got to do the best we can, maybe bring up some younger blokes and see how we go," he said.

"They gave us a good run the first time around so I'm expecting the same this week."

Lilydale could be welcoming up to five A-listers this week against Perth as the Demons look to get back to full strength.

Logan Reynolds, Wil Lockhart, Trent Griggs, Brighton Denman and Bailey Hawes will hit the deck in the next three weeks, with coach Colin Lockhart wary of Perth.

"They are always danger games, Perth are a good young side who have a good crack," he said.

"They probably lack a little bit of top-end talent but they really do have a go and are a tight-knit group so we are going to be on our toes for sure."

Perth coach Danny Bennett will too have at least five changes, but his aren't as positive, with injuries battering the Magpies in the last match.

"It's certainly a big challenge but our young boys are looking forward to the challenge and hopefully we can show some improvement from the first time we played and replicate a better performance out of that," he said.

Fielding eight players under the age of 23 in its recent match, Meander Valley is looking to continue the development of its younger players against UTAS.

Playing what he thought was a better first half than East Coast last game, coach Damien Rhind wants his players to bring the right attitude.

"We are feeling confident and are certainly really keen to get back on the winners' list," he said.

"But we understand that every game for them is an opportunity to get their first win on the board, which provides a bit of a danger for us so we need to come with the right intent and not be relaxed."

Brodie Tiernan's UTAS outfit had its closest outing in round one against the Suns and will be hoping to get even closer than the 43-point loss this weekend.