Recruits give Taylors Lakes the best possible start to season 2024

Taylors Lakes fired its first warning in the race for the EDFL Division 2 flag with coach Steve Burns impressed by several parts of his side’s games as big name recruits made their mark.

Ben Weightman impressed with eight goals on debut.

First impressions don’t come much better than Ben Weightman’s Taylors Lakes debut.

His eight goals in a 15.16 (106) to 10.14 (74) win over Sunbury Kangaroos to start the EDFL Division 2 season was just one reason why many people have labelled the Lions as premiership favourites.

After undergoing back surgery in pre-season, the former country footy star lit up Lionheart Reserve on debut.

But according to coach Steve Burns his performance was a greater reflection on his side as a whole.

“There were lots of positives about our performance forward of centre,” he said.

“Ben was really good, he gave off a few as well. Jaxon Holliday is only a young kid and he managed to kick three as well.

“Raafat Rachrache did a lot of work off the ball which allowed Ben to have a larger impact. Those guys gelled really well, as did the whole side especially in the second and last quarters.

“They (Sunbury Kangaroos) were very similar to us in the fact they had a lot of new guys play. Both sides are only going to get better.

“If someone had of told me before the game we’d beat Sunbury by five goals I’d have been ecstatic.”

Weightman wasn’t the only new name to impress in his first appearance for the club with late signing, Lachie Rayner, also among the better players.

As promised, Burns deployed Rayner in the ruck as he showcased why he has played at a higher level before.

“He really made a difference for us,” Burns said.

“Chris Vulic was a star in the middle as he always is. Declan Wakefield, another new guy, was really impressive off halfback.

“Shaun Ujcich had a really nice first up effort for us. There were promising signs across the board. Some guys were probably down on what they can produce as well which is a strong position for us to be in.”

The Lions were able to break the game open in the second quarter with 6.6 to 2.1 after trailing at quarter-time.

“We hung in there, we were fortunate they probably missed a couple of set shots,” Burns said.

“To their credit, the boys responded after we had a chat. They showed some great resolve in a tough situation.”

Taylors Lakes will now have a bye before returning to action against East Sunbury on April 27.