Taylors Lakes Football Club has always defied expectations.
Whether it’s on-field success or off-field development, the Lions do their best work with the pressure on and their backs to the wall.
Yet having built a reputation as a hard-working, no-nonsense institution, Taylors Lakes Football Club might not exist if not for a group of gardening enthusiasts.
In the early 1980s, with Taylors Lakes experiencing a population boom, residents formed a gardening club.
Such was its success that some of its members decided to build on the community initiative by forming a football club. And it soon made a name for itself.
The Lions were the first club accepted into the Essendon District Football League possessing only juniors. But the aim was to have seniors up and running in five years. Setting the standard for a successful future, the Lions launched a senior team after just their second season.
Long-time committee member and present club secretary John Rumbelow says the secret to success has been “giving people a go”.
“If you came along you got a game. The idea was, you got the families involved, you got the people involved, you got the kids involved … it didn’t matter who you were or what your standard was, you were welcomed at the club.”
While not possessing the deep pockets of many of its local football rivals, Taylors Lakes has always been competitive.
The Lions have relied on junior development in their bid to achieve on-field success.
The club won its first senior premiership in 2010, defeating highly fancied Pascoe Vale in the division 1 grand final. Rumbelow said the win was made sweeter by the fact the day’s side was predominantly made up of juniors.
“We were always told we weren’t going to be able to pull it off … yet we did. The grand final itself was very significant for the club.”
Rumbelow said that on that day in 2010, he stood on the sidelines ticking off the players’ names on the team sheet.
“He played under-10s, he played under-12s, he played under-14s … I think out of the 24 players, 18 of them were home-grown,” he said.
While winning the premiership left the club on the highest of highs, competing in the premier division the following year brought it crashing back to earth.
Everything went wrong for the Lions, who lost their home ground for an entire season because of a redevelopment.
That and injuries to key players left the Lions’ hopes of remaining in the premier division in tatters.
While promotion followed by immediate relegation has left many clubs spiralling downward, the Lions once again called upon their fighting ability.
Since that relegation season, Taylors Lakes has not missed finals in division 1.
“We didn’t have a team of buy-ins that disappeared once we left the A grade,” Rumbelow said.
“It wasn’t about us getting a side to play in finals, having them win and then having them walk away the next year because they weren’t Taylors Lakes people.”
While there has been plenty to celebrate through the past 25 years, there are no plans for a slowdown at Lionheart Reserve.
Club president Peter Gavos says the committee wants to continue working hard off the field and it has an eye towards returning to the EDFL’s premier division within four years.
“I’m so proud to be the 25th anniversary president,” Gavos said.
“We’re implementing a new three-year business plan backed up with good governance and compliance. It’s a new era and a new direction for the club. There’s a lot of hard work still in front of us, but our aim is to be competitive and reach the top division in the EDFL.”
Peter Gavos’ top five moments in Taylors Lakes’ history …
Premiership success:
Years of hard work was completed when Taylors Lakes knocked off Pascoe Vale in the 2010 grand final. The Lions went into the match as underdogs but left as heroes, delivering the club some silverware and a spot in the EDFL’s top division. “It was one of the most important days in our history and put us right on the map.”
AFL success:
While the football world only recently realised how talented Mark Blicavs is, the Lions have known for years. Blicavs was a Taylors Lakes junior and has gone on to play in the ruck for Geelong after being drafted in 2012.
Off-field success:
Taylors Lakes continues to kick goals off the field, the most recent of which includes adding a state of the art scoreboard at the club’s home ground.
Mainstream success:
As the Lions have continued to grow in status and reputation, so has the club’s supporter base. Currently the club’s number one ticket holder is actress and singer Tottie Goldsmith.
Individual success:
Few opposition sides have been able to stop Mark De Sousa throughout his career at the Lions. The gun midfielder has owned some of the biggest awards the EDFL has to offer and is a four-time winner of the division 1 best and fairest.
“To see him win it four times is just amazing. That is history-making for our club. Every team wants to grab him.”
