Tara Murray
There is no ceiling on what Taylors Lakes can achieve this Essendon District Football League division 2 season.
The Lions had sealed up a top two spot a couple of weeks ago and have been preparing for a semi final clash with Oak Park since.
Lions coach Steve Burns said for the group being in finals was only the start of what they wanted to achieve.
“We’re in finals to win it,” he said. “Whatever we do now is a bonus.
“What we set out to do was to play finals and we ticked that box. Then we wanted to finish top two and we ticked that box.
“We haven’t set a ceiling on what we can achieve. We’ll see how we go in the semi final and we will be better for it in the second final we play.
“Hopefully we can go all the way.”
Burns said having locked in their place a few weeks ago, they had been able to work on some certain things, while managing the players.
He said before Saturday’s game the group had continued to gel as the season goes and that if they had no injuries they should go in at almost full strength.
“We’ve managed them to make sure they’re right for the final,” he said. “Like every term we have three or four players gone for the season, which is disappointing for those boys.
“If we haven’t had any new injuries we will go in full strength.”
For the club, it’s the seniors first finals appearance since 2013. Burns said it was reward for all the work that had been put in.
“The committee and the football department have been amazing and given me everything that we need,” he said.
“The volunteers around the club have done a fantastic job as well.”
The Lions finished the regular season on Saturday against East Sunbury, winning 26.16 (172)-4.5 (29).
The Lions shared the goals around with 15 players hitting the scoreboard. Ethan Caffari was named their best.
Burns said they were looking forward to the challenge of facing Oak Park this week with a spot in the grand final on the line.
“We still feel like we have another level to go to be able to beat Oak Park, Northern Saints and whoever makes finals [the Sunbury Kangaroos].
“We have a young group and have beaten everyone below us twice except the Northern Saints,
“We‘ve taken on every challenge except against the top two, there’s another level to go.”
In division 1, St Albans beat Hillside, while Deer Park lost to Rupertswood. Those match ups will again be played in the first week of finals.
Keilor Park beat Westmeadows to seal its spot in division 1, while Keilor had a massive win against Avondale Heights in premier division.
Tara Murray
