Newly appointed Taylors Lakes president Jack Tamer is hoping success is contagious.
The club’s reserves side won the Essendon District Football League premiership last season and the Lions are keen for that winning feeling to translate to the seniors.
After making the finals for three years in a row at senior level, the Lions finished seventh in 2015. Decimated by injury throughout the year, they finished a number of their home-and-away games without reserves on the bench. But the club is refusing to dwell on the past and has wasted no time putting together its 2016 list.
“The positive thing is, we have 95 per cent of our players re-signed for next year,” Tamer said.
“We have a couple of players we’re talking to about recruiting as well, so we’ll see what happens there.”
One player who will be tough to replace is newly retired Taylors Lakes club legend Mark De Sousa. The gun midfielder won some of the EDFL’s biggest awards and is a four-time winner of the division 1 best and fairest.
While the Lions missed out on finals, Tamer was full of praise for first-year coach Sam Tankard, who he said had done a fantastic job under tough circumstances.
Tankard has again signed on to lead the club in 2016.
Tamer said it was only a matter of time before the club’s youth push brought rewards.
Taylors Lakes will kick off pre-season training later this month.
