TAYLORS Lake suffered a 64-point defeat on Saturday but won the respect of Kalkee coach Trevor O’Brien.

The Kees won every quarter in their 21.15 (141) to 12.5 (77) victory, but the hard-working Lakers never threw in the towel.

O’Brien said he was impressed with the opposition’s effort.

“We’re happy with where we’re at considering where we came from at the start of the year, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do,” he said.

O’Brien said one of the biggest positives for the Kees was the return of veteran forward Adam Carter.

Carter booted eight goals and was one of the Kees’ best players along with midfield star Steve Schultz and Jake Kearney.

Carter’s return freed Josh Beddison to split time between full back and full forward.

Taylors Lake coach Deek Roberts said he was proud of the way his troops played.

“In most of the game I thought we were competitive with them, even though there were a few patches where they got on top,” he said.

Roberts, who kicked four goals, said Jason Kannar worked hard to combat Kalkee’s Carter after he got away to a good start.

Dylan Young was another of the Lakers’ best players.

A suspected serious knee injury to key Taylors Lake forward Nathan Koenig was a big blow for the side.

Koenig was stretchered off early in the final quarter and will be assessed, but is likely to miss the rest of the season.