Merritt is unwavering in his belief that he has the squad to push for premier league glory and now that he is poised to make his return from a rib cartilage injury that has sidelined him since round one, he wants others to see why he's got that faith.

"We've got too much class in our team to be going as bad as we've been going," Merritt said.

"The time has come where we've definitely got to start stepping up as a unit and putting some wins on the board."

Having Merritt back in the forward pack will help in that quest to find success, as will the return of his fellow prop Luke Single and fleet-footed fullback Luke Single.

Only centre Jackson Brien, who broke his hand in the 46-10 round four defeat against Orange CYMS, is still sidelined with injury.

"Everyone's attitude is still good and I think getting myself, Luke Single and Lee McClintock back, it adds that little bit of strike back in and can start getting some confidence back in," Merritt said.

"Buckets [Single] and Lee they're absolute super stars, they've won comps up in Newcastle, so they'll bring experience and add a little bit of confidence as well."

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The Saints have not played since the May 15 magic round loss to CYMS, but Merritt is happy with their fitness levels.

The captain-coach's desire for success and faith the Saints can find it is also shared by his team-mates.

But what Merritt wants to see more of, starting with this Sunday's clash against Lithgow Workies, is players backing themselves to showcase their natural attacking flair when the opportunity arises.

That's what he feels can help them find the points they need to win - Pat's not having scored more than 12 points in a game thus far.

"I've given the boys a good little rest over the weeks that we had off and they've all come back fresh which is real good. There's a good buzz around the club like there was at the start of the year," Merritt said.

"Nothing has changed for us. I feel like we are the [Canberra] Raiders, we've been working hard but nothing is clicking for us.

"So I spoke this week about freeing ourselves up a little bit and playing what we see. Like we've got structures but we can go away from those, that's how you can win footy games.

"It's about eyes-up footy. They've all got class, we've just got to get that class out in them."

Merritt has seen glimpses of what the Saints can do when adopting that "eyes-up footy" mindset.

It saw them get within four points of Mudgee outfit which has has yet to suffer a loss.

"Versing Mudgee we were very unlucky not to get the win, but we scored a couple of tries there that weren't off a structured play, it was about throwing the ball about a bit, playing what you see," the coach said.

"It shows we can really compete against these top teams with star power in ex-NRL players.

"We've got a young squad, so it's just about having that belief to go for it. That's what builds confidence, if you go for it and things start coming off.

"If things do start coming off for us we're going to be a dangerous footy team, you create your own luck in rugby league."

Aggression in defence is another element of play the Saints hope to implement this Sunday against Lithgow as they try to distance themselves from the bottom of the ladder.

Lithgow has also endured a tough start to the season and heads into the match on the back of a 52-0 loss to Bathurst Panthers last weekend.

"To be honest we are both sort of travelling around the same as us, they are definitely going to come to play, nobody wants the dreaded wooden spoon. But we are going to come and play as well," Merritt said.

"So hopefully we can turn up and give it our best shot. We are definitely fit enough, we've just got to start throwing the footy around a bit."

The Saints' match against Lithgow kicks off at 2.15pm at Tony Luchetti Sportsground on Sunday.

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