Paul Ringland knows a thing or two about grand finals, with the Emus' under 13s coach having oodles of experience in the grand finals furnace.

This weekend, however, the former first grade coach isn't leading battle-hardened men into the heat of grand final pressure, he's steering the helm of a big bunch of 11 and 12-year-old boys.

"Yeah we're all pretty nervous I suppose," Ringland said of the lead-in to the grand final, which is this Saturday against Orange City.

"It's been a long year, we've done a lot of work and come a long way so you want to see the reward with a win but it's also exciting."

"[Being nervous] is understandable, a lot of them are playing their first year of competitive rugby so you know it's they're first big challenge."

Emus have a trick up their sleeve when it comes to the contest, which is an extra game under their belt.

The greens had to take the long way to the final - literally - after being beaten 24-17 as Orange City overcame a half-time deficit to win straight through to the decider, but Ringland thinks the extra game - against Forbes in Dubbo last week - might work in their favour.

"I like to think so, they're a bit more battle hardened and ready for the challenge and that extra week of football might be the difference, hopefully."

He knows Orange City will be a tough task, especially on their home deck, with the Lions having some strong players, but is backing his squad in.

"It's going to be a real challenge and they've got some real strike ... but it's a 28-man game and everyone'll be involved and hopefully we've got enough enough across the board to be a challenge," he said.

"We really need to contain their strike and they've got a really good defensive line and are really hard to break down so they just don't give up easy tries so we're going to have to keep grinding away for the full 60 minutes."

He was thrilled to be able to have a derby as the decider, which made an already massive stage even bigger.

"Anyone from either clubs loves playing in a derby so to have a derby grand final is awesome and an awesome experience for the town and for both clubs."

"I think it's going to be a massive crowd so that'll add to the excitement, we'll see who can hold up to the pressure."

The support from the senior club, with a wealth of experience in finals, has been "great" for the juniors.

"The kids really appreciate knowing they've got the support behind them," Ringland said.

Kick-off is 9am.