Eastwood captain Pat Sio said he and his teammates have had a tough time getting over last year’s 28-8 grand final loss to Gordon.

After finishing the regular season in fifth, the Woodies became giant killers in the playoffs and ended Eastern Suburbs and Northern Suburbs seasons on their way to the decider that was far closer than the scoreline showed.

“I probably will never get over it to be completely honest,” Sio told Rugby News.

“When I look back at the game, you see plenty of opportunities that we could have taken and that really burns. We’re all still feeling it but all we can do is try to convert that into motivation for this season.”

After scoring early, Eastwood let Gordon back into the game through three penalty goals then conceded a try just before half time on the back of a poor clearance kick.

The Woodies found their feet after the break though and spent what felt like an eternity scrumming repeatedly on the Gordon five metre line without reward in a period that decided the result.

“After we scored that first try early in the game, we really should have built on that and put our foot on their throat but we gave them too many opportunities to play their way back into the game,” Sio said.