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THE Western Bulldogs have earmarked Jordan Roughead as the man to replace Brian Lake after revealing the 30-year-old was set to play forward if he stayed at the club next year.
The Dogs were still surprised at the level of animosity over their trade for Lake yesterday after accepting pick 41 and a shuffle of mid-20s picks with Hawthorn.
They are still in the race for Collingwood's Chris Dawes, but have ruled out interest in Essendon's Scott Gumbleton despite needing another key tall forward.
Roughead, 21, was initially slated as a ruckman and key forward but after playing back in the last five weeks, including a solid outing against Brisbane's Jonathan Brown, he will play next year at full-back.
The Dogs did push hard to secure Hawthorn's first-round draft pick in the trade.
But with Hawthorn the only club showing interest in Lake, they knew getting a first-round pick for a player who turns 31 next February was unlikely.
The Bulldogs now have father-son selection Lachie Hunter and five other picks inside 50, including selections five and six.
The Dogs yesterday signed ruckman and free agent Will Minson for two years, as recently flagged in the Herald Sun.
List manager Jason McCartney said Roughead was well placed to fill the void left by Lake.
"Roughead will play back. It's amazing what can come out of a year like this," he said. "We are trying to get games into these guys and we looked at Roughead as a back and he really held his own down there.
"He played one game early in the year on (Mitch) Clark and then when Brian was suspended he went back and played the last five or six games back there and took the best tall forward.
"It's amazing what can happen when kids get the opportunity."
THE Western Bulldogs have earmarked Jordan Roughead as the man to replace Brian Lake after revealing the 30-year-old was set to play forward if he stayed at the club next year.
The Dogs were still surprised at the level of animosity over their trade for Lake yesterday after accepting pick 41 and a shuffle of mid-20s picks with Hawthorn.
They are still in the race for Collingwood's Chris Dawes, but have ruled out interest in Essendon's Scott Gumbleton despite needing another key tall forward.
Roughead, 21, was initially slated as a ruckman and key forward but after playing back in the last five weeks, including a solid outing against Brisbane's Jonathan Brown, he will play next year at full-back.
The Dogs did push hard to secure Hawthorn's first-round draft pick in the trade.
But with Hawthorn the only club showing interest in Lake, they knew getting a first-round pick for a player who turns 31 next February was unlikely.
The Bulldogs now have father-son selection Lachie Hunter and five other picks inside 50, including selections five and six.
The Dogs yesterday signed ruckman and free agent Will Minson for two years, as recently flagged in the Herald Sun.
List manager Jason McCartney said Roughead was well placed to fill the void left by Lake.
"Roughead will play back. It's amazing what can come out of a year like this," he said. "We are trying to get games into these guys and we looked at Roughead as a back and he really held his own down there.
"He played one game early in the year on (Mitch) Clark and then when Brian was suspended he went back and played the last five or six games back there and took the best tall forward.
"It's amazing what can happen when kids get the opportunity."
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