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THURINGOWA'S Clinton Austerberry used all his grand final mastery to lead the Bulldogs to a nine-goal RMS AFL Townsville win over Hermit Park at the weekend.

The centreman capped a half-decade of grand final glory, having picked up four consecutive AFL Mount Isa premierships with Rovers before moving east, with a best on ground showing in the 13.14 (92) to 4.11 (35) lashing of the Tigers at Tony Ireland Stadium on Saturday.

Austerberry made collecting possessions look like a playful hobby as he laid the foundation for the 'Dogs recovery after they spluttered in the opening exchanges to lead by a measly 1.8 (14) to 1.3 (9) at the first break.

Photo Gallery: Thuringowa claim TAFL cup

At a time when the scrappy contest was bogged down in midfield and the Bulldogs' endeavours blighted by absent-minded kicking contests and rash pot-shots at goal, Austerberry's presence was a steadying influence.

"That's the grand final for you, the pressure is up a little and people are playing on emotion," Austerberry said.

"It all comes down to who settles first."

Hermit Park did well to twice jolt Thuringowa with goals inside the first minute of the first and second quarters, but the remainder of the decider was played on the Bulldogs' terms.

'Dogs coach Paul Sanson admitted to striking it lucky in some cases. But in others, the back-to-back premiership win was born of sheer determination.

Winger Cameron Leman was a combination of both, having returned for the grand final from a bout of pneumonia, only to be farmed out as a forward strike weapon.

Having the odd couple of string-bean Greg Kimber and man-mountain Shaun Suitor keep the work rate up ensured the win.

"It turned out to be a master stoke with Cameron because normally he would be a wingman, but he was running out of legs a bit so we pushed him up the ground," Sanson said.

"Gregory, the skinny little bloke in the ruck, has soldiered on all season and been bashed pillar to post - he wouldn't weigh more than 75kg.

"He ran around against Grub (Hermit Park co-captain Andrew Grubba) who still had a fairly big influence on the game, but he soldiered on like we needed."

That boundless Bulldogs energy was what Hermit Park Tigers coach Barry Gibson conceded his side lacked on the day.

Even though Grubba remained a reliable force, Jae Bulter-Evans a dogged combatant, Scott Males and Robbie Bethune all worthy of praise, the yellow-and-black were left exposed.

"They all worked hard, but this is all about the team and we left it to too few," Gibson said.

"It's very painful.

"It doesn't really reflect the evenness of the competition or the closeness of the two teams.

"But at the end of the day the scoreboard tells a story and we weren't good enough."

THURINGOWA 1.8 4.8 8.14 13.14 (92)HERMIT PARK 1.3 2.8 2.9 4.11 (35)