The next edition of the derby takes place this Saturday at George Park 2 with the ideal script - both teams arriving off round one victories and determined to stamp their mark on the competition in its early stages.

Giants may have got the better of Dubbo Demons in their round one contest last weekend but Bathurst captain Katie Kennedy said it gave the team plenty to ponder ahead of the derby.

"With the wet weather I think it did a good job at showing where the teams are more with their fitness compared to skills," she said.

"We definitely noticed we were a little less fit than what Dubbo were, but we were fortunate enough to have a lot of subs."

Demons gave the Giants a late scare in the 15-point win at George Park 1, and the Bathurst side will look to sharpen up against their cross-city rivals.

Kennedy is going into the clash somewhat blind but is well aware of the Bushrangers' returning players who need to be contained.

"I'm not really sure what to expect. They've got a pretty different team to some of the other years but still with their key players involved," she said.

"Each year you can't expect each team to be the same. We all go through changes and that makes it exciting."

Kennedy said contests across recent AFL Central West women's seasons have gained in quality and profile.

"You can definitely see the growth from the first year to now," she said.

"The games are getting cleaner. The contest are getting closer. You can never go into a game thinking things will be easy against any opponent. You can never be sure what to expect."

Bushrangers had a couple of uncertain moments of their own in their 28-point win over Orange Tigers, especially on either side of half-time.

But skipper Ciara Kearns said many of the new players to the club took a lot away from their first match experience.

"The pace of the game was definitely down a notch. Where we come into it is that we want to put our hands and body on the ball," she said.

"It was a really good introduction for a lot of the new girls for how to tackle, because a lot of them haven't done that before.

"It was certainly full-on, and there was a lot of mud on us at the end of the game, but it was good to bring out that physicality in us because it's something we've lacked in the last few years."

While the Bushrangers side has an abundance of new players for the 2022 season they also welcome back the experience of Soph Thrower to the side, as well as Amelia Wright and Sonia Horn.

"We've lost a few girls but we've gained quite a few as well. There's probably six or seven who are new to the game. While the experience is lacking there's no shortage of enthusiasm," Kearns said.

"No matter what changes Giants are a strong team with a lot of skills and plenty of experience across the board. They're a great team to play against and it will be great to get a benchmark for what we can do for the rest of the season."

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