Lake and the flat man

[bornadog]

Matthew Lloyd



BRIAN Lake turned the clock back in the round-six game against Collingwood. Opinions on individuals and teams can change by the week in this game and I'd forgotten just how good a player Lake can be, while talking about the Western Bulldogs in the 3AW pre-match discussion.
We spoke of what the Bulldogs stand for right now and what players give the club hope in what looks to be a trying year. We all agreed that Ryan Griffen is the Dogs' best player and that Robert Murphy is a player who would get a game in every other team in the competition.
Luke Dahlhaus was also on the agenda having been a revelation since his debut last year, but no one else sprung to mind who was worthy of being discussed in a glowing light. Brian Lake wasn't even factored into the conversation, aside from how lacklustre his performance was the week before in Canberra when opposed to Greater Western Sydney's Israel Folau.

I was in Canberra to broadcast that game and Lake was symbolic of the Western Bulldogs' attitude that they had taken into the match. The first quarter was as bad as anything I have seen this year, the Dogs lacked energy and passion and it looked as if a major upset was on the cards. At quarter-time, the Giants led by two goals to nil and at the siren, captain Matthew Boyd was giving his team the dressing down that it deserved.
No player needed a good old fashion spray more than Lake. Against the new-to-the-game Folau, Lake continually trailed him into contests and allowed him to have six possessions in the first 15 minutes. Brendan McCartney had seen enough and took the backman off the ground at that point.
A major criticism of Lake over his career has been that he lets his guard down when opposed to lesser players, or players who he doesn't fully respect.
I've seen it happen on a number of occasions over the past five years and this was no different. Rodney Eade would attest to this and I reckon he would have aged 10 years coaching Lake.

For all of the knocks on Lake, aside from Matthew Scarlett, Lake was the most challenging and daunting opponent that I encountered from 2007 to the day I retired at the end of 2009. Lake didn't give me the latitude that he gave to Folau, as he thrived on taking down the opposition's main man. The bigger the challenge, the more driven and focused he became.
As a full-forward I never worried about too many defenders when the ball was coming in long and high, but Lake read the ball better than any defender I have ever seen and would mark the ball like he was actually the key forward. I played on Lake in the third last game of my career and he was marking the ball that well that I was avoiding taking him to contests, that's how destructive he was. Lake's aerial skills and defensive run made him a nightmare to play on.
All those thoughts came flooding back while watching Lake totally outplay Travis Cloke last week. Lake gave the big Magpie no time and space and was strong enough to go with him in the air.

Lake won the 2007 best and fairest with the Dogs and was the premier back man in the competition in 2009 and 2010. He led the competition in intercept marks over those two years (138 in total), he ranked No. 1 in the competition for overall marks over those two years (448) with the next best being Sam Fisher with 372 and despite being a full-back, only Heath Shaw and Paul Duffield rebounded the ball out of the defensive 50 more than he did. Lake was so dominant through that period that in round three of 2010, he kept Lance Franklin goalless while accumulating 27 disposals and taking nine marks himself, leading the Bulldogs to victory in that match.

Lake would have been the first defender slotted into the All-Australian sides over those two seasons. Lake's 2011 season just went from bad to worse. He was restricted to five games due to off-season hip, shoulder and knee surgery. Lake was never physically or mentally fit to play, he then came back earlier than he had wanted to, due to a difference of opinion with the coaching staff and as a result, struggled badly and seemed to fall out of favour with the coaching hierarchy.

Through the middle of last season, assistant coach Brett Montgomery questioned whether Lake had the mental toughness to play through injury, which would have hurt Lake's pride, and after a 10-goal loss to Geelong at Skilled stadium in round 11, Lake's season was over as he had no confidence in his body. The talk was whether Lake had played his last game for the Bulldogs, even though he was still contracted to them on big money.
McCartney's appointment put an end to those rumours as Lake was told that he was a required player. Last Friday night, Lake showed that he still has the capabilities to be a dominant force in the competition. McCartney needs to continually challenge him and today's challenge is shutting down North Melbourne's Drew Petrie. Lake will thrive on that match-up as Petrie has been a dominant force against the Dogs in past years.
The Cloke performance must be the standard Lake sets for himself on a weekly basis, that's what Fletcher and Scarlett have done for two decades.
Lake won't be so easily forgotten by the pre-match commentators, if that is the case.

[bornadog]

Couldn't stand Lloyd as a player and can't stand him as a commentator or writer.

[boydogs]

Lake read the ball better than any defender I have ever seen and would mark the ball like he was actually the key forward.

Wish he was

[Ghost Dog]

I hated him as a player but I like his commentary. Funny how it works.

[bornadog]

I hated him as a player but I like his commentary. Funny how it works.

He never has a good word for our players.

[Ghost Dog]

"We all agreed that Ryan Griffen is the Dogs' best player and that Robert Murphy is a player who would get a game in every other team in the competition."

"aside from Matthew Scarlett, Lake was the most challenging and daunting opponent that I encountered from 2007 to the day I retired at the end of 2009. "

These are not good words? Come'on. your hatred of the red and black is blinding your judgement. I could not stand him as a player, with his swagger, stupid grass throw and whinging to the umpires. But I enjoy listening to him commentate. Almost wish I didn't.

[bornadog]

"We all agreed that Ryan Griffen is the Dogs' best player and that Robert Murphy is a player who would get a game in every other team in the competition."

"aside from Matthew Scarlett, Lake was the most challenging and daunting opponent that I encountered from 2007 to the day I retired at the end of 2009. "

These are not good words? Come'on. your hatred of the red and black is blinding your judgement. I could not stand him as a player, with his swagger, stupid grass throw and whinging to the umpires. But I enjoy listening to him commentate. Almost wish I didn't.

If you read the article he says Murphy, Griffen and Lake are the only ones that would get a game in any other team. That is total rubbish.

[Ghost Dog]

If you read the article he says Murphy, Griffen and Lake are the only ones that would get a game in any other team. That is total rubbish.

His comments came after the GWS game, which was pretty ordinary.

[Evel]

To be fair to Lloyd, after Mark Robinson wrote that ridiculous "culture of blame" article before the Adelaide game last year, he came out on SEN in the pregame and gave Robbo a bake on the Dog's behalf.

Haven't heard much of him this year on 3AW, but thought he was okay on SEN.

[Ghost Dog]

To be fair to Lloyd, after Mark Robinson wrote that ridiculous "culture of blame" article before the Adelaide game last year, he came out on SEN in the pregame and gave Robbo a bake on the Dog's behalf.

Haven't heard much of him this year on 3AW, but thought he was okay on SEN.

Lloyd appeared on a tribute video to Brad Johnson. I think there was a chance he could have actually been picked by the dogs. He had a great story about Johnno and was obviously a fan of the club.

[LostDoggy]

If you read the article he says Murphy, Griffen and Lake are the only ones that would get a game in any other team. That is total rubbish.

Matthew Lloyd
…We all agreed that Ryan Griffen is the Dogs' best player and that Robert Murphy is a player who would get a game in every other team in the competition.

He said “every” other team, not “any” other team, and in that regard he was probably spot-on the mark.

[bornadog]

He said “every” other team, not “any” other team, and in that regard he was probably spot-on the mark.

Do you agree that besides those three players, not one other player could get a game in every other team?