EDFL: Taylors Lakes coach Charles Cuzzupi eyeing finals berth in 2021
Taylors Lakes has not contested EDFL Division 1 finals since 2014 and has a young senior squad, but coach Charles Cuzzupi has high expectations after committing to extend his tenure.
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Don’t tell Taylors Lakes coach Charles Cuzzupi his club is in a rebuilding phase.
The Essendon District Football League outfit has already made some early recruiting moves for 2021 as it chases a top-four berth in Division 1.
Since contesting finals in 2014, the Lions have finished seventh, seventh, fifth, fifth and seventh.
But despite having a young group at his disposal and having development stalled as a result of the coronavirus crisis, Cuzzupi has high expectations after re-signing as coach for the next two seasons.
“When I took on the job, we had a three-year plan and this year has obviously gone nowhere,” Cuzzupi said.
“But we’re still on the same page, which is really good, with the (club) executive and the playing group.
“The feedback I’ve got from the players is they’re pretty keen with the way we’re moving with things and development.
“We’ve got a lot of juniors coming through and we want to get ourselves to a point where we’re bringing in a couple of recruits over the next couple of weeks and then hopefully put ourselves in a good enough position to play finals in 2021.
“Getting another couple of recruits in will hopefully allow us just to continue to develop … allow us to get some good leadership around the young players and get 40-50 games into them so they can be the next wave that leads the club over the next 10-15 years.”
Cuzzupi led Taylors Lakes to four wins in his first season at the helm in 2019.
The Lions would need to improve significantly to close the gap, with several of their rivals — most notably East Keilor — continuing to bolster their lists.
But the club is not planning to be in the bottom half of the ladder for long, with the two-year extension fitting perfectly with its vision.
Cuzzupi has a bunch of emerging youngsters at his disposal, including the likes of Darby Lalor, Josh Vassolo, Luke Denny and Salvadore Melilli.
“We’re definitely recruiting the type of player we think will complement the group to help us get there (finals),” he said.
“I’ve maintained all along that there are things I’m doing today that I’m more than comfortable with knowing the club will benefit in years to come.
“It’s really exciting times for our football club. We’ll continue to grow our under-18s. I think we’ve got 32 under-18s who are committed for next years.”
Sharpshooter Patrick Rose and ex-AFL player Scott Harding have re-committed for next season in a significant boost.
The pair headlined the club’s recruits last off-season, with Harding joining as a playing assistant coach.
Cuzzupi was confident most of his senior squad would remain intact.
“Our (player) points aren’t an issue week to week … we’ve probably got 12-14 homegrowns there,” he said.
“How it affects a couple of our country boys with work, living back home … but early signs are that everyone wants to stay.”
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