Big numbers are expected to cram the sidelines in Rotorua as Baywide women's club rugby reaches its playoff stages tomorrow.

Derbies don't get much more local than the matchup between Rotorua club rugby institutions Whakarewarewa and Rotoiti at any level of the game, and with a semifinal spot on the line tomorrow's encounter at Puarenga Park between the two staunch rivals should be a classic.

Whaka coach Ron James acknowledges his side is in good shape and look favourites after whipping their near neighbours 33-10 earlier in the season, but isn't expecting an easy ride.

'The players need to realise this is a final and we need to pay Rotoiti their dues – they're not just coming here to make up the numbers,” he says.

'We've got a few girls playing who weren't there last time we played Rotoiti, so I think we'll be a little bit stronger in that aspect. I think the big thing we learned last time was how to shift the ball. We've got natural, big, strong ball carriers and they're starting to realise where the space is now.

'We've continued training through the bye week and the week off we had as well, we're looking pretty good.”

Rotoiti captain Polly Playle says her team is looking to make the most of the occasion, and focusing on their preparation both physically and mentally.

'We're all really excited to just see how far each of us has come since we started. We didn't really think we were going to be in this position at the start of the season.

'It's cool to come out and battle against a local club, especially Whakarewarewa,” Polly says.

'Our team are super excited and stoked to be in the position we're in. We'll hopefully do the best we can, stick to our game plan and game structures and see how far that takes us. I know we will do well, but it just depends on how well we can keep it up through the whole 80 minutes.”

Ron says he's looking for a strong performance from his team to go with a victory, with an eye on a potential semifinal battle to come.

'I want to see the team improve on our structure and control. We also want to really get our set piece humming, that's going to be the big one if we do progress through to the semi-finals. Rangiuru and Rangataua will be quite hard and if we go through we want to have some momentum.”

Waikite host Waimana across the Sulphur City at Bellvue Road in the second quarterfinal.

The winners of the two matches go through to next week's semifinals against top qualifiers Rangataua and Rangiuru, who sit out this week's action.

Both matches kick off tomorrow at 1pm.