Te Aroha celebrate their victory over the Wainuiomata Lions in the Wellington premier club rugby league final.

As Anthony Utanga headed towards the tryline in the final minute of the Wellington club rugby league final, his Te Aroha Eels team-mates finally allowed themselves a celebratory smile.

The runaway solo effort earned the Eels a 36-6 winning margin, but it was not until they placed that final nail in the Wainuiomata Lions coffin that they began to enjoy the win.

Most of the squad played in the agonising extra-time loss to Randwick in last year's final, so wouldn't take the foot off the gas until the final hooter sounded.

CAMERON BURNELL/FAIRFAX NZ Te Aroha's Ned Walters is lifted up by his team-mates after scoring his side's fifth try on their way to a 36-6 win over Wainuiomata in the Wellington club rugby league final.

When it did, they ran to their fans at the southern end of Westpac Stadium to reveal a banner shouting: "T.A 2015 Champs", the third time it has been unveiled in Te Aroha's history and the first since 2011.

Te Aroha had been in front all game, taking an 18-0 lead into halftime after tries to Michael Strickland, Jon-Marc Stowers and Pene Sila.

However, Te Aroha coach Rangi Luke said they never allowed themselves to get comfortable.

"I knew Wainui could always come back, they showed that against Randwick last week, so I said we had to keep going."

Wainuiomata briefly gave themselves a sniff when Friedrich Keil scored to make it 24-6 with 13 minutes to go, but tries to Ned Walters and Utanga helped earn Te Aroha a deserved victory.

They lost just one game all season and retired to their clubrooms to celebrate long before the New Zealand Warriors took the field against the St George Illawara Dragons at 5pm, with Luke saying many of the team were still going 24 hours later.

"There will be a few hangovers [on Monday] for sure, but it's good for the boys after losing so hard last year.

"That was a learning cure for everyone and we came back stronger."

Luke said his outstanding halves pairing of Mohi Aupouri and captain Utanga marshalled the game well and setup the win, while the forwards earned praise for the large chunks of metres they carved out throughout the game.

Te Aroha backrower Denzil Hokianga was given the honour of converting Utanga's try as the final hooter sounded, which Luke said was a show of respect for a club stalwart who helped win Te Aroha's first premiership in 2000.

"He's been playing for Te Aroha for 15 years, he came down as a young fella and is still going today, he was only 19 when he first started playing for us.

"He's going to see if he can go round again next year, but at his age you never know for sure."

Most of the squad were likely to return to defend the title in 2016, Luke said.

AT A GLANCE

Te Aroha Eels 36 (Michael Strickland, Jon-Marc Stowers, Pene Sila, Logan Luke, Ned Walters, Anthony Utanga tries; Logan Luke 5/7 goals, Denzil Hokianga 1/1 goals) Wainuiomata Lions 6 (Friedrich Keil; Murphy Albright 1/1 goals). HT: 18-0