Young Bulldogs give Lake a new leash on life

[The Coon Dog]

Matt Murnane, May 23, The Age

http://images.theage.com.au/2012/05/22/3316961/art-svBRIANLAKE-420x0.jpg

BRIAN Lake doubted he would ever recapture his best form, but revealed yesterday how a new outlook on life, as well as football, helped him shake his mental demons.

The Western Bulldogs defender admitted he was racked with nerves playing in his first two games this year on the comeback trail from a raft of injuries that cruelled his 2011 season.

Lake's doubters came from everywhere last year - questioning his desire to overcome injuries, his desire to stay at the Bulldogs, and after one particular game against Geelong, his desire to play at all.

Article in full... (http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/young-bulldogs-give-lake-a-new-leash-on-life-20120522-1z38k.html)

[bornadog]

Great to have Lake back to his best, he really is holding down the backline for us.

[Bulldog4life]

Fantastic to have Brian playing good footy with us again. He has certainly silenced his critics.

[G-Mo77]

Can't believe there were people in here saying he was finished and we should trade him. :D

[LostDoggy]

Yep loving his form this year, he is looking happy to be playing footy again. Hopefully he saves his best game for friday night.

[DragzLS1]

Good on ya Lake! The difference with him in our backline is, when the ball goes in, you know its coming straight back out ;) Champion and to come back in this form after such a horrible season in 2011 shows his character and determination :)

Lets show Scarlet how its really done ;)

[chef]

Great to have Lake back to his best, he really is holding down the backline for us.

Yep, imagine if we had a fit Williams and Morris as well.

[Ghost Dog]

highlight of the year. To see Brian wrap Cloke in a blanket and toss him in the yarra was a real pleasuure.

[jeemak]

Yep, imagine if we had a fit Williams and Morris as well.

The trust between these three was turning them in to an elite unit towards 2011. It obviously turned pair shaped, though if we could get a solid two years out of all of them together in 2013 and 2014 we'll definitely worry a few sides. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the side develops if that turns out to be the case.

Because of that trust, the ball gets moved out of the backline quicker and more decisively, and our midfield have a greater margin for error when trying to find a way forward which obviously helps our forwards immesurably.

[LostDoggy]

Can't believe there were people in here saying he was finished and we should trade him. :D

Guilty as charged. I often led the discussion re: trading Lakey, although always with the proviso that I would love nothing more than for him to prove me wrong.

I don't think 8 games is evidence enough of sustained excellence, but he's certainly showed that he still has it in him to be a match-winner on his day, and I believe a huge reason why -- without mortgaging the house on it the way Voss did -- we should not give up on making a real impact in September in the next couple of years.

[G-Mo77]

Don't worry Lantern. I made that comment with my foot all the way in my mouth. I'm also guilty as charged. :o

[Maddog37]

Very proud to beat my chest and say I always supported him. I could easily see why you wouldn't though. The article on Cordy helps shed light on the sorts of things these guys go through and Brian was really put through the ringer last year.

[LostDoggy]

Is it a new lease or is it that he never lost it and was just not fit?

[Greystache]

What I couldn't understand last year was everyone was happy to acknowledge Cooney had an injury and thus his low output was acceptable, yet Lake, who'd had 3 seperate surgeries was not producing to his usual level not because of injury but because of attitude problems.

I couldn't understand it then, and now that his body is right and he's back dominating games I understand it even less. People point to his public demeanor as proof of his attitude issues, but personally if I was a back-to-back All Australian with a banged up body trying to push through the pain and was copping it from every media outlet, and even my own coaching group I'd be less than jovial too!

[AndrewP6]

3 surgeries... 'nuff said.

[Raw Toast]

Imagine if we'd traded him to Hawthorn for not a huge amount and he was dominating for them :o

I was on the fence with him last year, but am super happy to have him back dominating and in at least close to career best form.

[KT31]

What I couldn't understand last year was everyone was happy to acknowledge Cooney had an injury and thus his low output was acceptable, yet Lake, who'd had 3 seperate surgeries was not producing to his usual level not because of injury but because of attitude problems.

I couldn't understand it then, and now that his body is right and he's back dominating games I understand it even less. People point to his public demeanor as proof of his attitude issues, but personally if I was a back-to-back All Australian with a banged up body trying to push through the pain and was copping it from every media outlet, and even my own coaching group I'd be less than jovial too!

Major problem was with him being called soft from coaching staff etc.
This ,IMO, did a major injustice to Brian and should never happened.

[comrade]

Major problem was with him being called soft from coaching staff etc.
This ,IMO, did a major injustice to Brian and should never happened.

I think it's fairly well known that Lake doesn't take training/preparation as seriously as the likes of Boyd/Cross/Picken etc and I reckon his attitude towards his rehab would have had a lot to do with the frustration from the coaching staff.

[Mantis]

I couldn't understand it then, and now that his body is right and he's back dominating games I understand it even less. People point to his public demeanor as proof of his attitude issues, but personally if I was a back-to-back All Australian with a banged up body trying to push through the pain and was copping it from every media outlet, and even my own coaching group I'd be less than jovial too!

I guess the issues arise when the medical team give you the 'a-ok ' to get stuck into it, but for someone or another you're still labouring. After the fact it was found his injuries weren't fully healed, but at the time it wasn't that clear cut.

[LostDoggy]

I guess the issues arise when the medical team give you the 'a-ok ' to get stuck into it, but for someone or another you're still labouring. After the fact it was found his injuries weren't fully healed, but at the time it wasn't that clear cut.

Why did the medical team give him the 'a-ok' then? What went wrong?

[Sockeye Salmon]

Why did the medical team give him the 'a-ok' then? What went wrong?

Mis-diagnosis. Not every problem shows up in a scan.

The doctors said he was OK and Lake said, 'no, I'm not'.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Mis-diagnosis. Not every problem shows up in a scan.

The doctors said he was OK and Lake said, 'no, I'm not'.

My issue is that the medical team AND our coaching staff refused to listen to Brian. In essence, they thought they knew more about Brian's body that he did.

That's piss poor.

If it was Boyd, Cross or Gia then they would have been heard. The whole bit about Brian not being 'as professional' shouldn't count for jack when it's so plainly obvious he was struggling physically. Especially given the fact that he had proven he was strong enough to play through injuries in previous seasons.

Just really, really bad management.

[Mantis]

My issue is that the medical team AND our coaching staff refused to listen to Brian. In essence, they thought they knew more about Brian's body that he did.

That's piss poor.

If it was Boyd, Cross or Gia then they would have been heard. The whole bit about Brian not being 'as professional' shouldn't count for jack when it's so plainly obvious he was struggling physically. Especially given the fact that he had proven he was strong enough to play through injuries in previous seasons.

Just really, really bad management.

To be fair there were days that Brian had full confidence in his body and was able to move freely, it was just that he kept running into roadblocks and could never get full confidence in his body. When it was found that there was a NEW issue the correct procedures were followed.

[Maddog37]

The only issue I have had with the whole Brian Lake problem last year was the public airing of dirty laundry that made the club look divided.

[LostDoggy]

To be fair there were days that Brian had full confidence in his body and was able to move freely, it was just that he kept running into roadblocks and could never get full confidence in his body. When it was found that there was a NEW issue the correct procedures were followed.

It definitely shows a breakdown in trust though. I doubt anybody deliberately set out to do the wrong thing, but they should've trusted him to be honest with them, and taken him at his word.

Of course, my opinion is 100% uneducated, wasn't there, don't know all the facts.

[G-Mo77]

My issue is that the medical team AND our coaching staff refused to listen to Brian. In essence, they thought they knew more about Brian's body that he did.

That's piss poor.



It was the same scenario with Aker's "hamstring injury" wasn't it. They claimed he was good to go, Aker said he wasn't yet most jump on Aker who apparently doesn't know anything about his body and took the medical staff's side in that scenario.

[bornadog]

Some people have a lower threshold of pain than others do and they think they have a problem, but when the medicos check there is nothing showing up in scans etc, so its a mental thing.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Some people have a lower threshold of pain than others do and they think they have a problem, but when the medicos check there is nothing showing up in scans etc, so its a mental thing.

Except in Lake's case he genuinely was hurt.

I don't think anyone would question Lake's ability to cope with pain after some of his finals performances under duress.

[Maddog37]

Also Lake is not a delusional pathalogic liar.

[Happy Days]

Some people have a lower threshold of pain than others do and they think they have a problem, but when the medicos check there is nothing showing up in scans etc, so its a mental thing.

Injuries not showing up on a scan and being misdiagnosed by club doctors isn't unique to Lake or those with "low thresholds".

[bornadog]

Injuries not showing up on a scan and being misdiagnosed by club doctors isn't unique to Lake or those with "low thresholds".

Yes that's true.

[LostDoggy]

Injuries not showing up on a scan and being misdiagnosed by club doctors isn't unique to Lake or those with "low thresholds".

Another good argument for why doctors should be 100% independent of the club.

[Mofra]

Some people have a lower threshold of pain than others do and they think they have a problem, but when the medicos check there is nothing showing up in scans etc, so its a mental thing.
Lake is a senior player and I'd expect anyone with 10+ years in the system to know their body pretty well.

If a player, on the back of 3 operations, needs suppositories to train and says "I'm not right", I'd back them in to know what they're talking about.