Brian Lake

Brian Lake (born Brian Harris; 27 February 1982) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He now plays for his local club Caroline Springs in the Western Region Football League, who won their first premiership in 2016.

Brian Lake
Lake working as a boundary commentator for Fox Footy in February 2017
Personal information
Full name Brian Lake
Date of birth (1982-02-27) 27 February 1982
Original team(s) Woodville-West Torrens (SANFL)
Draft No. 71, 2001 National Draft, Western Bulldogs
Height 195 cm (6 ft 5 in)[1]
Weight 98 kg (216 lb)[1]
Position(s) Full-back
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2002–2012 Western Bulldogs 197 (32)
2013–2015 Hawthorn 054 0(2)
Total 251 (34)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2015.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early career

Picked late in the 2001 AFL Draft at pick 71 from Woodville West-Torrens due to a sleep apnea condition that resulted in him falling asleep in club interviews; the Bulldogs discovered this and realised they could get him as late as they wished.[2] Lake was a relatively late developer. Making his AFL debut late in the 2002 season, he was seen as a raw full-back who was some way from fully developing.

AFL career

Western Bulldogs
Lake playing for the Western Bulldogs in 2008

By the 2005 season, Lake's role in blanketing some of the best full-forwards in the game was seen as outstanding. He had come of age and shown significant improvement, much like many other of his Western Bulldogs teammates (such as Daniel Giansiracusa, Robert Murphy and Dale Morris), who led the team to within half a game of a finals' berth.

In round three, 2006, Lake was responsible for the hamstring injury that ended the season of Essendon's Matthew Lloyd, when he landed on him midway through the third quarter of the teams' clash at Marvel Stadium.[3][4]

In 2007 he developed into one of the leading full-backs in the competition and is remembered for the match against St Kilda in which he held Fraser Gehrig, a dual-Coleman Medal winner, to no possessions for the entire match. That year he won the Charles Sutton Medal as the Bulldogs' best and fairest player.

Lake earned a place in the 2009 AFL All-Australian team in the back pocket as his first All-Australian honour. In season 2010, he was again named in the 2010 AFL All-Australian at full back. Lake has often been referred by many commentators as a "defensive monster" due to his ability to out strength his opponent and take the mark in contested situations.

Hawthorn
Lake training with Hawthorn in 2015

Lake, along with pick 27, were traded to the Hawthorn Football Club at the end of the 2012 season during the trade period, in return for picks 21 and 41. The trade on the first day of trade week had caught many sport commentators by surprise that a deal was done so quickly. While the rest of the Hawthorn playing group were away on holidays, Lake trained at Waverley and lost 5 kilos before the team returned for pre-season training. A corked thigh caused him to delay his debut for his new club until round 5 against North Melbourne.[5]

Lake's move to Hawthorn culminated in his first AFL premiership, with Hawthorn defeating Fremantle and Lake winning the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground.[6] Lake played 21 games in his first season as a Hawk, his two goals were kicked against Sydney in consecutive weeks. In 2014 Lake was involved in an on field incident with North Melbourne's Drew Petrie during their teams' Round 16 match. Lake was seen holding Petrie in a strangle-like position on the ground for an extended period of a time before Petrie's teammates dragged Lake away. Lake was charged with misconduct by the AFL Match Review Panel and referred straight to the AFL Tribunal for determination.[7] Lake went on to win 2 more AFL premierships with Hawthorn in 2014 and 2015, playing a pivotal role in Hawthorn's success. This era is the first time Hawthorn have ever won 3 successive premierships in its history. Lake announced his retirement on 6 October 2015 after playing his last game for Hawthorn in the 2015 AFL Grand Final and winning his 3rd AFL premiership.[8]

Criminal history

In January 2013, Lake and his then wife were locked up for four hours after a drunken altercation following the Portsea Polo.[9] In July 2018, Lake spent five nights in a Japanese prison after being arrested after a drunken bar fight in Osaka.[10] On 4 April 2019, Lake was arrested and charged with a series of offences including theft, criminal damage, stalking and entering a place likely to cause a breach of peace.[11]

Personal life

At Christmas 2007 he legally changed his name from "Brian Harris" to "Brian Lake" in order to continue his father's family name.[12] Lake currently resides in Caroline Springs, a suburb in Melbourne's west. He was a contestant on Australian Survivor: Champions vs. Contenders.

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of career[13]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Led the league after season and finals
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2002 Western Bulldogs 36100112100.00.01.01.02.01.00.0
2003 Western Bulldogs 36136744317523190.50.53.42.45.81.81.5
2004 Western Bulldogs 361700724011247180.00.04.22.46.62.81.1
2005 Western Bulldogs 3622211508123185260.10.06.83.710.53.91.2
2006 Western Bulldogs 362410177127304123490.00.07.45.312.75.12.0
2007 Western Bulldogs 362001237106343182350.00.111.95.317.29.11
2008 Western Bulldogs 362542272171443175500.20.110.96.817.77.02.0
2009 Western Bulldogs 362526290183473208340.10.211.67.318.98.31.4
2010 Western Bulldogs 3625106344177521240580.40.213.87.120.89.62.3
2011 Western Bulldogs 365304117582080.60.08.23.411.64.01.6
2012 Western Bulldogs 36204726182343160300.20.413.14.117.28.01.5
2013† Hawthorn 172121199129328158390.10.09.56.115.67.51.9
2014† Hawthorn 171101807315361120.00.17.36.613.95.51.1
2015† Hawthorn 172200192120312147340.00.08.75.514.26.71.5
Career 251 34 32 2360 1338 3698 1630 412 0.1 0.1 9.4 5.3 14.7 6.5 1.6

References
  1. "Brian Lake". Hawthorn FC. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  2. Anderson, Jon (22 November 2014). "AFL recruiters reveal their favourite picks ahead of Thursday's National draft". Herald Sun.
  3. "Lloyd Injury Shock". Essendon Football Club. 22 April 2006. Archived from the original on 16 August 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  4. "Lloyd Shattered By Hamstring Injury". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 23 April 2006. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  5. Salemme, Kate (26 April 2013). "I feel like I'm 18 again: Lake". Hawthorn Football Club. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  6. http://www.hawthornfc.com.au/news/2013-09-28/lake-tops-it-off-with-norm-smith
  7. Hogan, Jesse (7 July 2014). "Brian Lake sent to AFL tribunal for choke hold on Drew Petrie". The Age.
  8. Phelan, Jennifer (6 October 2015). "Veteran Hawthorn pair Lake and Hale retire with three-flag haul". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  9. Landsberger, Sam; Devic, Aleks (14 January 2013). "Footy star Brian Lake and wife locked up for four hours after drunken verbal stoush". The Advertiser.
  10. "AFL great Brian Lake heading home after five nights in Japanese jail". The New Daily. 14 July 2018 – via Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  11. https://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/former-afl-star-brian-lake-arrested/news-story/1efcde15aa38135e53a9b3ce7afacc15
  12. AAP, Bulldog Harris changes surname to Lake Archived 1 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Brisbane Times, 10 January 2008. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  13. "Brian Lake's player profile at AFL Tables". AFL Tables.
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