Airport West coach Brent Taylor says his club is aiming to follow the mantra of Strathmore Community Bank Premier Division powerhouse Keilor and invest heavily in the next generation of talent.
The Eagles are contesting their first finals series in the top flight since 2013 and defeated Deer Park in last weekend's elimination final to set up a sudden-death semi final against Aberfeldie on Sunday.
They were hit hard by injury in the first half of the season, forcing them to expose several young players to Premier Division, but recovered from a 4-8 start to win five of their last six home-and-away games and finish fifth.
Taylor pointed to the fact Airport West's senior and reserves teams were still alive, while five of their junior teams played finals.
The Eagles claimed the 2022 Division One flag, finished seventh in Premier Division in 2023, and sixth last year.
Taylor was hopeful the club's rise would make it an attractive destination for prospective recruits.
"We've been building this for two years. We've improved every year since we've been back up in Premier, so it's an exciting opportunity for the club and you certainly feel that energy and vibe around our football club at the moment," Taylor said.
"We're on the right path. I've come from Talent League where it's all about development and junior pathways, and making sure you get that step right.
"Mick McGuane and Keilor footy club have probably been the pinnacle of that, and have really shown how to model that. That's something we aspire (to) and a club we look up to. I think that's the right model, and it's something we're certainly looking at building over the coming years."
Taylor maintained faith during Airport West's difficult run, with the growth of its young players a positive.
He said competitive showings against Keilor and Aberfeldie in Rounds 11 and 12 provided hope they would be a force when their stars returned.
Tyson Young, Clayton Rogers, Koolyn Briggs, and Mick Edwards are among the key players who have missed large chunks of the campaign.
"I was pretty confident once we got some of the crew back that we'd be able to get going," Taylor said.
"What I was really pleased with was we were able to get our pressure up, and we've changed our DNA a lot. Last year we were pretty big on clearance and territory. I actually think we've been able to move the ball from our back half really well, so our ball movement's really improved in the second half of the year, and that's all come about because we've given some opportunity to some youngsters.
"Now we've got some of those key, experienced leaders back, we're starting to see it all come together at the right end of the year."
Max Rider, who is in his first season at the Eagles after crossing from UNSW Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs in the AFL Sydney competition, has been outstanding.
Rider has kicked 56 goals from 17 games – equal third in the competition – and contributed three in Sunday's win over Deer Park.
"He's a young superstar. We got the three Sydney academy boys through my contact Robbie Chancellor. I worked with him at the Western Jets. He was coaching one of the sides up there in Sydney. Through that we got them down to our footy club," Taylor said.
"Max is only 19 years of age. He certainly looks a lot more mature and older. I rate him extremely highly. He's a hard match-up.
"We kind of had to find a replacement for Luca Muratore after he wanted to ply his trade at VFL, and Max has certainly stood up in that role. He's able to give us a really contested look ahead of the footy, but also when the ball hits the ground, he's really agile. So he's quite a hard match-up as a medium-sized forward."
Former VFL champion Matthew Hanson has had another ever-consistent season, along with skipper Ned Gentile, who has 34 goals to his name.
Taylor also lauded the efforts of another recruit from Sydney in Hamish Morrison, who has impressed across half back in recent weeks, while 19-year-old forward Cooper Janevski has also been important.
The Eagles went down to Aberfeldie by nine points in Round 12 after leading at three-quarter-time.
Abers were soundly beaten by Strathmore in the qualifying final, setting the stage for an intriguing contest at Salesian College.
"I'm really excited for this one," Taylor said.
"I was with their (under) 17s team in 2017 or 2018. I actually coached a lot of the boys in that side, so I'm really looking forward to this contest. I have a lot of respect for the Aberfeldie Football Club and their people.
"It was a close contest last time. I thought we were stiff not to get there in the end. They got the last couple in the last five minutes, but it was probably one of the games where we saw some of our youngsters stand up.
"I'm really looking forward to this challenge and seeing if we can reapply the same pressure and ball movement that we were able to produce against Deer Park on the weekend."
