The two-time Woodbridge Cup champions entered unfamiliar territory at the start of the winter, coming across to the Mid-west Cup with their only goal being a simple one - build the team ahead of next season.

Not only did they build the skills of their new players - of which there were many - they made it to within two points of a third consecutive league tag title, a feat Regan can't help but be proud of.

"Their efforts to fight their way back into the game were great," Regan.

"They were down 16-6 at one point and CSU had a really good side on the park.

"It's disappointing it panned out that way but at the end of the day someone's got to win it.

"That CSU side they played is probably stronger than anyone they came up against last year."

The two top dogs entered Saturday's extra time period locked at 16-all and after Cargo crossed in the first five minutes, it looked as though it would wind up winning the game.

But, when the Mungals scored an equalising try, it came down to the boot of Bronte Emanuel as she slotted home the kick that gave the students the win.

You never expect to go down via a last-minute conversion but there were a few things that took Regan by surprise on game day, including the Mungals' awareness with the ball in-hand.

"We left a few holes in our defensive line sometimes and to their credit, they shifted the ball and took advantage of that," he said.

"We worked on our defence during the week but they caught us out a few times."

While there won't be serious discussions regarding 2021 in the next few weeks, Regan's already thinking about the move back to the Woodbridge Cup and hopes to see a few of the players that stepped back for 2020 return to the fold next year.

"Hopefully we'll get a couple of them back," he said.

"The result is disappointing but our goal this season was to keep everyone together and to make sure we got to play... at one stage we weren't sure if we were going to be able to play."

Not only will the Heelers return to their old competition next winter, Regan plans to return to the helm for another crack at coaching, even though he's been planning to call it quits for a few years now.

"This was going to be my last year but I've been saying that for a few years now," he said. "The girls are keen to go back to Woodbridge to defend their title and I'm keen to help them."