The Whites will play the Vikings in the opening round of the John I Dent Cup finals, the young side unfazed at the prospect of taking on the three-time defending champions.

The Whites will also get a double chance in the finals after beating Wests 47-24 at Jamison on Saturday, helping them leap-frog the Gungahlin Eagles into a top-two finish.

The Whites have beaten the Vikings once in their three-year competition domination – a last-minute win against Tuggeranong last season.

But coach Adam Fahey is confident his side – boasting several first-year players – will thrive on the challenge ahead of them.

"I compare Tuggeranong to that Melbourne Storm [NRL] team when they were in that er that no matter the situation, they found a way to win," Fahey said.

"They're quality and we're going to have to be our absolute best to beat them, nothing less will get over the line.

"Every team is beatable ... that's how we'll compose ourselves as a young side. Our job as coaches is to make sure they don't get overawed with this massive hurdle."

Wests inflicted the first loss of Tuggeranong's season last weekend.

But the Whites almost delivered a killer blow to Wests' season as they went on a second half rampage to cruise to victory.

Wests will play finals rugby after finishing the regular season in fourth position.

But their hearts were in their mouths in the second half with Royals making a late charge for a finals berth with a stunning performance against the Gungahlin Eagles.

Royals needed to beat the Eagles with a bonus point and rely on Wests getting nothing out of the clash against Queanbeyan.

But Wests scrumhalf Peter Raines scored a try deep in the second half to lift his team to a bonus point defeat and secure their place in the play-offs.

"The intercept tries totally changed the game and when we got that fourth try, we totally switched off," said Wests coach Craig Robberds.

"We couldn't finish any higher on the ladder ... we scored three tries in the first half and if we couldn't get another in the second half there would have been something wrong.

"I would rather get that performance out now than in the finals."

Wests started the clash against Queanbeyan in fine form and held a 19-13 advantage at the break.

But the Whites charged from behind to win the game, helped by two intercept tries and a double to former Australian schoolboy Keith Morgan.

"It's good to be up there," Morgan said.

"We want to be in the best position possible ... we didn't want to slack off. It will be my first finals, I'm pretty excited straight out of school."

AT A GLANCE

QUEANBEYAN WHITES 47 (K Morgan 2, J White, B Chalker, HP Momsen tries; HP Momsen 5 conversions, 4 penalties) bt WESTS 24 (J Whetton, S Uphill, A Parsons, P Raines tries; S Uphill 2 conversions); ROYALS 38 bt GUNGAHLIN EAGLES 24; UNI-NORTHS OWLS 36 bt EASTS 22.

FINALS

Next weekend: Tuggeranong Vikings v Queanbeyan Whites, Gungahlin Eagles v Royals. Both games at Viking Park.