Airport West makes it two wins in a row

Airport West believes a horror start to the season with two wins in a row. Coach Brent Taylor opens up on what has changed, the players who have impressed and building on what already existed.

Tyson Young has been in strong form for Airport West. Picture: George Salpigtidis

Airport West is starting to feel a greater sense of stability.

The Eagles have won back-to-back games to climb off the foot of the EDFL Premier Division ladder after dropping the first seven.

Injuries and player availability have been one of the biggest challenges for new coach Brent Taylor, who took over from Trent Rogers at the end of last season.

But he believes greater continuity in the last two games, which has included wins against East Keilor and Avondale Heights, has his side on the right path for the second half of the year.

“We weren’t where we expected to be early days,” he said.

“t was always going to take time to develop continuity and understanding.

“We’re probably a little bit behind where we expected to be by round nine but things are turning around at the moment. We’ve had four or five changes every week.

“I forecast it would take five to six weeks (for an adjustment period). What I wasn’t able to forecast was the amount availabilities and injuries that were going to impact the list.

“But in the last couple of weeks we’ve had more consistency and hopefully we can build on it going forward.”

While the Eagles might have a 2-7 record, two of their midfielders have been among the standout players in the competition.

Tyson Young, who played VFL footy with the Northern Bullants last year, has been dominant after returning to local competition full-time.

Meanwhile, ex-Werribee VFL gun Matt Hanson has been one of the EDFL’s best recruits.

“Those boys are really leading the way for us,” Taylor said.

“They’re both among the leading disposal getters in the competition. It’s pretty hand when the opposition lock down on one of them the other ones is able to get off the chain.

“We’re immensely proud of what they’re producing at the moment.”

After now overseeing half a season, Taylor revealed what had impressed him about the club.

“They’ve always had a really strong culture on and off the field and it really has strong family ties,” he said.

“It’s obviously looking to just build upon that and as I said, I’m just enjoying being able to sort of bring that professionalism with the background of VFL and Talent League (footy).

“And then trying to upskill those around me and obviously help the boys with some of the modern era of football.

“It obviously takes time, but where we’re really starting to enjoy our work.”

Airport West will see just how far it has come in recent weeks when it takes on Strathmore and Aberfeldie in the coming weeks ahead of another mid-season bye.

“I think it really all clicked against East Keilor, we saw the whole game plan come together,” he said.

“The boys really starting to trust each other and be able to implement aspects of the game plan.

“The challenge is obviously ahead of us in the second half of the year, continuing to build and trying to peg a few of those games back that we lost especially in the early rounds.”