Mark Stevens




WESTERN Bulldogs full-back Brian Lake will remain in exile for another week at least.

The Dogs are content with Lake's progress, but he will remain home when the club travels to Perth for Sunday's clash with West Coast.

Lake will play with Williamstown in the VFL after spending last weekend on the training track to lift his fitness.

If Lake gets through, he appears certain to play against Hawthorn in Round 10.

He loomed as a potential addition this week because of West Coast's "land of the giants" forward line, including Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling, Quentin Lynch and either Nic Naitanui or Dean Cox.

But the Dogs' worries have eased as Tom Williams is set to resume from an ankle injury.

Star forward-midfielder Shaun Higgins is also poised to return after missing three matches with groin soreness.

The possibility of full-forward Barry Hall playing is less certain.

While ankle surgery has sidelined him for three matches, he is likely to be named in the team if he gets through training at Whitten Oval on Friday morning before the team flies out.