After finishing the 18 round regular season in first place, Sydney University have been rewarded with the minor premiership and an opening week clash against the in-form defending premiers – Eastwood.

While that may hardly seem fair to the University fans, Tim Davidson and his Students certainly aren’t complaining.

“It’s definitely not hard luck. I think the quality of the competition and the fact that everyone in the top six can beat each other on their day makes this year’s finals so competitive,” the coach said.

“Eastwood have been building confidence and have beaten quality teams in the last three weeks. They have a lot of experience in big games and Ayoub is a quality player and leader who guides the team exceptionally well around the park.”

A few weeks ago, Eastwood looked down and out after losing to Parramatta for the second time this season.

But three wins from their final three matches and a handful of favorable results has kept the Woodies season alive, leaving Stu Woodhouse confident that his side can still be a premiership threat from sixth position.

“We’ve made it hard for ourselves because we don’t get a second chance, but this group honestly believes we can win,” he said.

“Uni are always in good form at this time of year. They are well organised at set piece which allows them to launch front foot ball and create opportunities for their attack. Plus they are playing at home, which will also assist them,” Woodhouse added.

Although Sydney Uni have named Waratahs Paddy Ryan and Tom Robertson in their front row, Davidson said his side is wary of the Eastwood set piece.

“We need to match Eastwood’s extremely strong set piece and hopefully gain parity to give our backs a solid platform to play from. We have seen what Eastwood did to Randwick at scrum time and will need to match them up front to be any chance in this game.”

Woodhouse is expecting a more open match and said his side will need to score points to combat Sydney Uni’s attacking strike power.

“We have worked hard the last month to get our attack to where it needs to be. When attacking opportunities present themselves we have to execute them and keep the scoreboard ticking over,” he said.

“We need to match their enthusiasm and speed of play.”

Ladbrokes: Sydney University $1.67; Eastwood $2.10

Sydney University (1-15)

Paddy Ryan, Tolu Latu, Tom Robertson, Tipiloma Kaveinga, Matthew Phillip, Lachlan Swinton, Hamish Dunbar, Jake Wainright, Jake Gordon, Stu Dunbar, Christian Kagiassis, Tom Carter, Jim Stewart, Jack Reddan, Angus Roberts.

Eastwood (1-15)

Sam Needs, Hugh Roach, Martin Plokstys, James Neale, Jared Barry, Rhys Allen, Cohen Masson, Michael Kovacic, Max Page, Jai Ayoub, Jarome MacKenzie, Tom Hill, Mike McDougall, Cameron Mitchell, Johnathan Malo.