Football
16 April, 2026
Lakers excited for Kees contest
Despite a round one loss to Laharum, the Taylors Lake senior football coach Lee Marshall is encouraged by his team’s performance as they look towards their round two clash at Kalkee this Saturday, April 18.
The Lakers were within two goals of Laharum early in the fourth quarter of round one before the Demons closed out the game strongly to win 87-50.
While disappointed at the missed opportunity, the Taylors Lake coach said the game highlighted the side is trending in the right direction.
“I was initially pretty frustrated coming away from the game on Saturday,” Marshall said.
“We put ourselves in a position to win, and we definitely had our chances.
“But after thinking about it over the last few days, I'm pretty happy with the boys’ effort; there's a lot of positives to take away from the game.
“Clearance-wise and looking at the amount of inside 50s, we did have enough to win the game, but the cooler and more experienced heads of Laharum came through under fire.”
The side now turn their attention towards Kalkee, who open their season after a round one bye.
Similar to the Lakers, the Kees appear to be a team on the rise, adding key recruits such as Jye Walter and Tanner Smith, while maintaining most of their 2025 list.
Marshall acknowledged the similarities between the teams and believes a win over Kalkee is indicative of his side's potential to play finals.
“Kalkee are a very well-run club, and they have been for some time,” he said.
“They might have been on the rough end of some injuries last year, so the ladder probably didn't do them justice, and they've recruited some really quality players, especially in the forward half of the ground.
“From my point of view, this is the type of team we need to be beating if we’re going to be playing finals.
“I think it’s pretty exciting when I look at where Kalkee’s coming from last year and where we’re coming from.
“We’ve both recruited well, and both have young lists, so it could be a very exciting day of football.”
The Lakers won’t let last week’s result bog them down, believing it has highlighted areas for improvement.
“With some of our travellers, it was the first time the team’s all played together,” Marshall said.
“It’s all learning for us and looking at where we can continue to grow.
“A week is very short in football, so there’s no point dwelling on it, especially when we have a tough ask against us in Kalkee.”