CSU turned up at University Oval ready to fight against grand final-bound minor premiers Mudgee Wombats, fighting back from a nine-point second half deficit to secure a thrilling 25-24 victory.

Liam Burrell completed the memorable fightback with a try out wide inside the last three minutes, giving the CSU camp the biggest buzz they've felt since last year's grand final triumph.

It was a messy game, featuring one red and four yellow cards, but through that trouble CSU continued to play to their strengths and caught the league leaders by surprise.

As a bonus, CSU avoided the wooden spoon with the last round upset.

CSU Coach Peter Plunkett said the belief among the team was remarkable for a club who has undergone a battle for numbers and results throughout 2020.

"It was a fantastic game. This game was really important as far as the future goes, and everyone was buoyed by the results. It came on our family day and we had a few parents there watching on," he said.

"It's probably the best team we've had on the paddock for about a month or so, and they all performed outstanding considering the amount of football they've had. They all played with a lot of purpose and belief.

"Considering what happened last time we played them, it's a huge turnaround. We were strong across the paddock."

Huge turnaround might be an understatement.

Mudgee's 74-5 win over CSU earlier in the season made them massive favourites to take out Saturday's game at Bathurst, but the students still had confidence knowing that the previous contest between the clubs was played with just 14 men on their side.

Down 24-15 on Saturday it looked like CSU may go down valiantly in defeat but they wanted more.

Their desire and strong home support lifted the team home across a dominant final quarter of the match.

Even though CSU had a wayward day with the boot - failing to hit a single conversion - it didn't come back to bite the hosts.

CSU's Nick Plunkett said it was a stunning way for the team to end a year of ongoing battles.

"Even before the game started we had a bit of confidence, though we weren't sure why. We scored first through the forward and you could tell Mudgee was caught off guard," he said.

"There's still going to be a good core group around next year. I think the atmosphere at the club will lift a lot after that final round win and while I won't be there to play I'm really interested to see how they go."

Mudgee will play the winner of Narromine Gorillas and Parkes Boars.