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Western Bulldogs AFL full back Brian Lake admits there were times during last season it looked like he just didn’t care. The moment of truth came in round 11 when the Bulldogs lost to Geelong by 61 points at Simonds Stadium.
It appeared the simple act of bending down to pick up the bouncing ball was too much bother for Lake.
The 2009 and 2010 All-Australian full back was so limited by injury that it was impossible to put his full array of skills on show.
Three off-season surgeries followed by groin and knee injuries restricted Lake to just five games in the first 11 rounds and, after the Geelong clash, he wasn’t seen at senior level for the rest of the year.
“Everything possible that (could have) went wrong, did,” Lake told reporters on Thursday.
The 30-year-old says he’s on track to play the first half of Sunday’s round-two pre-season cup match against Carlton at Etihad Stadium.
“It was just frustrating that I couldn’t get out there and the body was letting me down,” Lake said.
Then-coach Rodney Eade was riding Lake to lift.
“Last year, your friendships do get a little bit fragile and strained because of the environment we’re in,” Lake said.
“The pressures on ‘Rocket’ (Eade) and myself were very high and it was a very tense place around here last year.
“The relationship’s fine.
“You could say maybe in previous years he used to ride me a little bit but that was to get the best out of myself.
“Last year, he still did the same. It probably didn’t work as much as in previous years.”
Anxious not to blow his top on the field, Lake only succeeded in creating more problems.
“I couldn’t touch my toes. I couldn’t bend over, couldn’t run,” Lake said.
“I knew before that I was in strife but that (Geelong game) just emphasised it.
“You don’t want to express your feelings out and show that.
“It can be perceived that I was disinterested – I didn’t want to be out there.
“But it was far from it. It was just the frustration building up inside.
“I didn’t want to express that out there because I can have a little bit of a temper every now and then.
“I just wanted to hold that in and probably didn’t come across too well.”
Lake defended his record of carrying injuries, saying a string of off-season surgeries in the past hadn’t stopped him getting on the paddock.
At the end of the 2010 season, Lake had played 95 consecutive games.
“Playing with injuries, painkillers, injections, I’ve had no problem with it before,” Lake said.
“Last year having no pre-season … that was the issue.”
Lake says his training form has been encouraging.
“It has given me a hell of a lot of confidence that I can hopefully reach that goal again of how I played two years ago,” he said.
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