Eddie Toohey, Oscar Davey, Nate Henrys and Charlie Goodlock and Makkai Kettle represent Tasmania at Southern State Championships

Eddie Toohey, Oscar Davey, Nate Henrys, Charlie Goodlock and Makkai Kettle represented Tasmania in the Southern States championships in the under-14s category which was held in Canberra.

The five Launceston Tigers played against ACT, Victoria and Southern Inland in their pool matches with South Australia, Northern Territory, Illawarra and South Coast Monaro in the other group.

There was further recognition for Launceston with Henrys and Kettle serving as vice-captains.

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The pair reflected on their time in the Tasmanian colours against some of the Australia's best up-and-coming rugby talent in the nation's capital.

"We really enjoyed it, it was definitely something new. Rugby is not a big thing in Tassie and getting to show those mainland players how we do it was great," Kettle said.

"It was really good we definitely learned a lot of things while we were over there and especially how different we can play when we play as a team instead of a just a single player."

The pair are hopeful they can wear the state colours again at the Southern States Championships in the future.

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They also got to experience parts of Aboriginal culture while partaking in the tournament including witnessing a welcome to country.

The state competition provided many lessons for the five Tigers to bring back to Royal Park.

"It was the first time for all of us ... it was a good learning experience ... but I'd love to do it again," Kettle said.

"I really love the physical aspects and also with the line-outs and scrums, you really have to work on it, it's not just about being some big brute, there's technique and mentality to it.

"It was nice to see a lot of passionate rugby players out there as well because rugby isn't the biggest thing in Tassie."

The Tigers are set to return to Royal Park on Saturday as the Launceston outfit hunt another win against Burnie in the premiership competition.

The ladder-leaders have won nine of their 10 games in the competition and sit two points clear of Devonport. Burnie have a mixed bag of results from their 10 games with five wins and five losses including a tight 24-17 defeat against Hutchins last weekend.

As they try to back up last season's grand final appearance, the Tigers are not getting complacent against their North-West Coast rivals.

The Tigers are in good form after beating Harlequins 101-3 with the defensive unit showcasing their wares by not conceding a try.

"We always tend to have really close games against Burnie, the past three games with them, the biggest margin has been around six points," Launceston president Isaac Anderson said.

"For the last few years, they have been a really big rival of ours so we're excited to play them at home and see how we go."

Jack Briggs will bring his 50^th senior game up against Burnie with Launceston's premiership (3pm) and championship (1pm) sides competing at Royal Park on Saturday.

The Launceston women's side have a road-trip to Hobart as they take on Easts at 11am for their round .

"We love playing out here, we think we've got the best ground in Tasmania so it is always pretty exciting to come back here and have a game in front of a good home crowd," Anderson said.

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