Launceston Tigers crush Taroona Penguins to claim Premiership grand final

It didn't take 17-year-old talent Elijah Agaiava long to make his mark on the big stage, reeling off a try two minutes in.

Tigers head coach Ray Burgess said Elijah, and father Tua Agaiava had proven to be key performers during the season.

"He's [Elijah] a natural athlete, he's one of those people who can pick anything up and succeed," he said.

"He listens, he wants to learn and his old man talks to him a helluva lot."

Assistant coach Patty Bessell echoed Burgess' sentiment.

"You see him [Elijah] learn very quickly, if he does one thing that doesn't quite work, the next time it does," Bessell said.

"His growth this year has been unbelievable.

"It's showing that we can have him and his father play together and do the same thing to come together for the premiership."

Back-line bruiser Manu Fifita also made his mark on the game, stringing together a bunch of big runs, two of which yielded tries.

Sanday Lawson also proved deadly on the flanks, brushing through the Penguins' defence and scoring a try of his own in the 40^th minute.

"Some would say dependable - Sanday Lawson is just there every week and has played a few premier grade games as well," Bessell said.

"Manu Fifita in the back-line has just been amazing."

The Penguins struggled mightily to piece together attacks on the Tigers, despite being down two men at one point.

This was epitomised when the Tigers made a try-line stand 10 metres out against the Penguins.

"We scored twice while we were two men down so it just shows the teamwork they can put together," Bessell said.

The 2020 Championship division-winning Tigers were promoted to the top-tier Premiership division for 2021, and have experienced similar success.

Bessell said the continued success of the 2021 Championship team was indicative of the program's growth.

"A lot of these guys were involved in that (2020) squad, there's really good depth at the moment across both teams," he said.

Burgess added the increased depth allowed for both teams to improve.

"Days gone by, we used to get 13 guys at training," he said.

"Last Thursday, we had over 40 guys there so that means you have to compete for your spot.

"You can't just play if your spot's safe, you've got to perform."

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