All indications point to a Rangataua - Rangiuru final in Baywide Women's club rugby in a week's time.

But semi-final challengers Waikite and Whakarewarewa have other ideas, and will be amped to back them up with action in Sunday's semifinals.

The two Western Bay heavyweights have dominated the competition all season, finishing one and two in the round robin each scoring over 300 more points than they conceded in the process.

Rangataua went through the regular season unbeaten, while Rangiuru lost just one match - to their Maungatapu-based rivals.

The odds are stacked against the two Rotorua outfits then – but they're not just planning to make up the numbers.

Waikite have the biggest challenge ahead of them, travelling to Te Ariki Park to take on top dogs Rangataua.

They largely battled through the season, and scraped into the playoffs in fourth place with three wins from six.

Their 87-0 defeat when the two sides met in June was a dark day, but they have only to cast their minds back to last year's grand final victory for happier memories.

As defending titleholders they have more than just pride on the line, a point not lost on Rangataua coach Paul Pou.

'We're preparing as if this is our final,” he says.

'We're playing last year champs and if we want to be in the final then we need to come prepared mentally for a battle, which is what I am expecting. Semi-final rugby is a different ball game and if you're not mentally prepared then it could be the winning and losing of a game.

'We can't afford to look any further than this week so we have play this game with focus and executing our game plan well.”

Waikite head coach Shane Head knows his side will be facing the blowtorch at times in the game.

He's focusing on giving them the tools to handle it.

'To remain composed, our ladies will simply take a breath, absorb any pressure that's applied to us and enjoy the moment before re-focusing on what our aims are for the match,” he says.

'We'll be concentrating on what we do well, which is keep the ball in hand, use our big forwards and big centre to crash it up close.

'Our main focus will be to not give them any opportunities to counter attack off our mistakes, so ball retention is the key focus. No silly kicking the ball away for their speedy wingers to run it back at us.”

Paul says his team are enjoying the support they're getting from the Rangataua club.

'Our premier men's team will be behind us this weekend as they have been all year. They'll be preparing our kai for our manuhiri after the game.

'To host a semifinal is always an honour and you want to be playing finals rugby in front of your supporters. There will be a huge vibe and the ladies I am sure will be very excited about this weekend.”

Whakarewarewa conceded 68 unanswered points to their opponents Rangiuru in their early season encounter, but as with Waikite will be focusing on closing the gap in Sunday's other semifinal at Te Puke's Centennial Park.

Having finished just five points behind Rangiuru on the table, Whaka will firmly believe an upset is not beyond them.

Both matches kick off at 1pm.