The second-placed side is coming off a gutsy away win over Bathurst City as they pulled away from their opponents in the later stages of the contest and Milne knows the girls will need to show similar staying power at the Orange Hockey Complex if they want to get the result.

"We're going to need to start strong and continue that for the whole 60 minutes," Milne said.

"If we have any lapses at all, they can score 2-3 goals in five minutes."

If you let a side like St Pat's come to your home ground and dictate terms, you're in for a tough day at the office, which is why Milne's looking to disrupt the blue and whites' chemistry from start to finish.

"Hopefully we can throw a spanner into the works of their structure," he said.

"All of them will have to dig deep and go from there... it's going to take ticker and grit."

Saturday's clash kicks off the first of a challenging two-game stretch in which Feds take on Pat's and Panthers in back-to-back tilts and Milne's certain his side needs no reminding of how difficult both games will be.

"They know it's going to be a lot harder... I haven't had to remind them of that," Milne said.

"A win over St Pat's could put us eight points clear of them and that could do a lot for our confidence.

"We'd love to come away with two wins over the two teams but we're more concentrating on holding our own and seeing where we are. They've been the top two teams for quite a while."

Orange Hockey Complex is the destination for a 1.55pm kick-off time.