Like it has been all season, CAW will be the outsiders against Newcastle heavyweight Merewether.

“We’ll probably be the underdogs again but that has suited us the whole way through the season,” Tonkin said.

“But we’re going to take some beating, that’s for sure.

“Merewether have made it this far as well, they’re obviously a powerhouse team and we’ll give them the respect they deserve and hope we’re good enough.”

After two solid training sessions this week, Tonkin revealed the team would line up as selected.

Reserves Jack Robinson, Brendan Klein-Boonschate and Ash Sutherland will make the trip to Sydney should anything go wrong before the match.

With several all-rounders, CAW has the advantage of batting all the way down to 11.

That much is clear with last weekend’s District century maker Ashan Ranaweera set to bat last.

“We bat very deep so we’ll never be out of the contest,” Tonkin said.

“We have plenty of bowling options as well, it just so happens we have a lot of all-rounders in the team.

“I think the main thing is that we see off the new ball.

“I know that (Merewether bowler) Mark Cameron and a few of the other boys take early wickets every time.

“We’re planning on chasing the runs but they have made some big totals so we need to take early wickets ourselves.”

Tonkin will turn to Konica Cup star Mark Butters and Englishman James Weighell to get early scalps while opener Trent Ball looms as key to a big CAW score.

Tonkin admitted the occasion was the biggest moment in his career.

“It was a big one a couple of weeks ago in the Konica Cup final but that won’t compare to this one, this is as big as it gets in rep cricket,” he said.

“It’s going to be a good atmosphere and there’ll be a bit more buzz ... it just sets up the occasion.

“If we can win the SCG Cup up there it will be something we’ll remember forever.”

The team will travel by bus to Sydney this morning and will train at the SCG this afternoon.