Essendon and St Kilda will face conditions more akin to mid-July than early March in their NAB Cup clash in Wangaratta on Saturday night.

The north-eastern Victorian town has been lashed by around 180mm of rain this week, prompting the closure of schools and some roads on Thursday.

But the AFL and local organisers say the sell-out match at Wangaratta Showgrounds will go ahead.

Rain is expected to ease in the lead-up to the bounce of the ball, with only light showers forecast for Friday and Saturday.

City of Wangaratta communications manager Andrew Chuck said the venue's surface was renowned as one of the best in the region, with good drainage.

""It is looking reasonably good,"" Chuck said on Thursday afternoon.

""The rain has eased off up here, and while there was quite a lot of standing water on the ground this morning, most of that has already drained away.

""We'll be monitoring the situation over the next 24 hours, but the way the forecast is at present and the way it's looking outside, it's not so bad.""

AFL spokesman Patrick Keane said the League was not making contingency plans.

""We're watching it, but there's no intention to do anything different,"" Keane said.

""The ground may well be very heavy, but we're a winter sport and sometimes we have wet grounds.""