Southern United are on the road for a double-header in Wellington, where they will play two national league games in three days.
They start against in-form Wellington United at Martin Luckie Park this afternoon.
They then come up against Central at the same venue on Monday in a rescheduled clash, after their game scheduled for round two was postponed due to extreme weather in Dunedin.
"It’s a massive weekend," Rankin said.
"Two games in three days is a lot of work. There will be some tired legs I’m picking at the end."
Both Wellington United and Central present different challenges.
Wellington United have recorded two wins and two draws from their opening four games and sit fourth on the table.
Central, however, have conceded 13 goals in their three losses to open the season.
They sit ninth, one place below Southern United who have one draw and two losses.
Southern United lightened their training load this week, focusing on getting into the flow and touches on the ball to prepare themselves for both games.
Rankin said they needed to start strong against Wellington United to take the momentum in to their game on Monday, and make sure they recovered well tomorrow.
Rankin scored Southern United’s opening goal against Canterbury United Pride last weekend, off the back of some good pressure from Raegan Potter.
But she knew they needed more.
"Hopefully, we can start scoring some goals."
The midfielder, who is originally from Palmerston North, is in her third season with Southern United — having previously played for Central — and was enjoying the environment again.
"This season has been a bit tough so far," Rankin said.
"But it’s a really good group of girls and we’re just struggling to find the back of the net.
"We’re playing some really good football, so it’s really enjoyable to be out there playing with everyone."
Rankin moved to Dunedin to study at the University of Otago and graduates this year with a bachelor’s degree in science. She planned to stay in Dunedin to complete an honours degree in psychology next year.
In today’s other games, Central host Eastern Suburbs, Canterbury United play an unbeaten Auckland United and Waterside Karori are on the road to Western Springs.
West Coast Rangers play Phoenix Reserves tomorrow.
