And while grand-final glory is the short-medium term goal for both Alex Walker and Em Kennedy, the big picture pertains to participation.

Being part of the region's premiere women's tackle rugby union competition is something both ladies are proud of, but what really puts a smile on their face is seeing the amount of players who have flocked to their clubs in 2021.

Roughly 40 women across both Emus and City will throw on their colours on Friday night as the rivals will square off in a round four derby.

For City, the turnaround in participation numbers is immense as they went from a battling side in 2020, to a stacked, family-oriented club in 2021.

"In previous years we've struggled with numbers but to have 23 girls registered this year is amazing," Kennedy said.

"We're well-known for being a family club and when the word gets out about that, new players come and they bring along their friends."

No matter how many hands on deck City has, it's going to take an inspired performance to knock off Emus as Alex Walker's squad has had the wood on the Lions in recent times.

"Emus have always been really good in the forwards," Kennedy said.

"We aren't exactly known for our size but we've changed a lot in our structures this year."

Kennedy has been the skipper in previous seasons but in 2021, she's stepping back to the vice captain role as the Lions will rotate through captains week-to-week, an initiative put in place to give the younger players more experience.

"We've got a fairly new squad of girls and we're letting some of the younger ones be captain and I'll be vice captain and try to guide them," she said.

The morale is high at Pride Park, much similar to Endeavour Oval as Walker shares Kennedy's excitement surrounding participation numbers.

"I'm really pleased with our numbers this year," she said.

"The energy's so high and the vibe's really positive."

The Westfund Ferguson Cup ladder is somewhat confusing as Emus, who are one of three teams to have tasted victory so far, sit last out of five sides.

This is because both Forbes and City have had the bye, as well as a rescheduled match.

To put it simply, Emus sit in fifth with three games under their belt, while City reside in fourth having played just the one contest.

"The results so far haven't rattled the girls," Walker said.

"All the teams are so different this year and to see the numbers coming back across the board is really pleasing.

"We trained really hard last night and all of the girls who are playing on Friday were there."

It makes sense for Walker to excuse the two losses her troops have sustained so far as they dropped the opener at Ashwood Park to Bulldogs, before losing to juggernaut Kangaroos on Ladies' Day, the latter is 3-0 with a plus 113 differential.

As for City, it suffered a loss against Kangaroos in round two. While the men's first and second-grade sides will square off at Wade Park on Saturday, the women will do battle at Pride Park under lights on Friday. Kick-off is 7.05pm.

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