Nic White reckons the Western Force have been stitched up by the Super Rugby fixturing, but he's backing his side to buck the odds and gatecrash the finals.
The Force are yet to reach the finals in a full Super Rugby competition, and that trend is being tipped to continue in 2025.
The Perth-based franchise sit second last in most betting markets, behind only Moana Pasifika.
Making matters more challenging for the Force is a hectic travel schedule which will see them criss-cross Australia for most of the season, as well as facing their usual tough trips to NZ and Fiji.
There are two sensible sections in the Force's draw.
The first is when they play the Waratahs in Sydney one week and then the Crusaders in Christchurch the next, giving them the option to stay over in the east.
Then later in the season, the Force will be able to set up camp in NZ to face the Chiefs and Blues in consecutive weeks.
Aside from that, the Force will be back and forth all season - a situation that hasn't escaped the attention of White or his teammates.
"We've been kind of stitched up with the draw," White told AAP.
"You feel like given we're the furthest away that travel should come into consideration there.
"We've got to zig-zag across the country and across to New Zealand quite a bit this year. So we're on the road a fair bit.
"I feel like there could have been a more efficient way of doing that.
"I thought it worked well last year, we had two or three home games in a row and then two or three away games.
"But this year it's kind of one at home, one away, one at home, one away, which kind of upsets the training week.
"We fly economy. There's a couple of exit rows that will go to the locks. Outside of that, we're all jammed in together.
"And as you know with time zones (it's difficult)."
Instead of dwelling on the tough travel schedule and being written off by most outsiders, the Force want to use it as extra motivation.
"You kind of feel like you're last thought of over here, and that's good," White said.
"Give us that title of underdogs and write us off, and we'll go about our work over here and hopefully surprise some people.
"It's fire in the belly right, being written off, being underdogs."
The Force recruited current and former Wallabies Dylan Pietsch, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Harry Johnson-Holmes and Darcy Swain during the off-season.
One-cap England international Nic Dolly and one-cap All Blacks back Matt Proctor were also among the new additions.
The Force posted a 4-10 record last year to miss out on the finals, but White says there is a buzz about the group heading into the upcoming campaign.
"We'd certainly like to play some finals footy," White said ahead of the team's season opener at home to Moana Pasifika on February 15.
"We really let ourselves down last year."
