Rugby league: Pikiao and Ngongotaha meet in local derby

Ngongotaha's Destry Tamai makes a run during his side's win over Papamoa last weekend. Photo / Ben Fraser

Throw out the form book and get ready to watch the big boys wind up from the back fence when Ngongotaha play Pikiao this weekend.

A game both sides look forward to, picking a winner at Puketawhero Park tomorrowis a tough job.

So far this season Pikiao have lost 40-10 to Mangakino and 40-16 to Pacific, but Ngongotaha will be well aware of the threat they possess.

Ngongotaha, meanwhile, bounced back from a 42-28 loss to Pacific in the opening round to beat Papamoa 20-10 last weekend. Their coach, Paul Nahu, said this was a game his players looked forward to.

"It's early in the season, but it's an important game. We've got targets for where we want to be after the first round and this is certainly a game that we're targeting.

"It's always an exciting game that the boys want to be involved in," he said.

The recurring theme for Nahu this season is wanting to see his side improve with each game.

"We just want to see improvement as we build and we'll reassess after round one. That's certainly an aim tomorrow, to improve on last week's performance.

"Defensively, I though we aimed up pretty well against Papamoa last week, there's always room for improvement but we'll certainly look at our offensive game a bit more this week," Nahu said.

Pikiao centre Cameron Walters pushes away from the Ngongotaha defence during a game last season. Photo / File

"They're a strong club and a proud club, we have the utmost respect for them. It'll be good to see a good turnout [to watch the game]."

Pikiao coach Jason Parata said his side made some small improvements against Pacific last week, but "fell apart" towards the end of the game. He hoped the local derby might spark his side into life.

"We've worked on being in the right position and not rushing. Last week we tended to try and rush our attack and it didn't work. We were trying to throw passes that didn't need to be thrown.

"The numbers are a little bit better this week. Ngongotaha gave us a bit of a touch-up during the nines, but I haven't seen much of them in the 13-aside. They're always physical and passionate, it's for Rotorua bragging rights when we meet now, with just the two clubs," Parata said.

Bay of Plenty/Coastline Premier Rugby League draw
Saturday, April 21
2.30pm kick-off
Pikiao v Ngongotaha at Puketawhero Park
Mangakino v Pacific at Mangakino
Papamoa v Otumoetai at Gordon Spratt Reserve
Taupo bye