Launceston president Tua Agaiava says a new-found confidence has the Tigers poised to secure even more silverware for the Royal Park faithful in 2024.
Launceston will contest the men’s Premiership and Championship deciders after a thrilling semi final weekend saw both sides progress in style – Launceston 1 with a 45-12 win over Glenorchy and Launceston 2 upsetting Burnie 41-34 on the road.
A four-time premiership winner with Launceston, Agaiava now has high hopes for both sides come Saturday’s TRU grand finals.
“Honestly I was surprised to see our reserves travel to Burnie and beat them but it’s well deserved,” Agaiava said.
“It’s taken them a whole year to get their combinations right but these past three weeks they’ve started playing as a team and working really well together.
“They’re playing with confidence and humility and that’s something our firsts have been doing as well with that core group that’s been here for the past four years.”
While Launceston 2 will enter their Championship final as underdogs against Hobart Lions, Launceston 1 are favourites to claim a third consecutive Premiership after storming through regular season without loss.
“Taroona are a great team – they’ve great players who are well coached – but we’ve been consistent this year and we feel we can score quickly when we need to,” Agaiava said.
“We’re not dismissing other teams at all – in fact, we know what it’s like to go undefeated and lose the final like we did in 2021 – but I think we’ve got the grand final experience, the confidence and the squad culture to get there.
“If we carry on with what we’ve shown this year, if we look to use our wide channels and create overlaps, and we play with humility and selflessness, the results will come.”
Launceston will contest both the men's Championship (12:05pm) and men's Premiership (3:15pm) at Rugby Park.
