Brian Lake

Brian Lake (born Brian Harris; 27 February 1982) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early career

Picked late in the 2001 AFL Draft at pick 71 from Woodville West-Torrens due to a sleep apnea condition that resulted in him falling asleep in club interviews. The Bulldogs discovered this and realised they could get him as late as they wished. Lake was a relatively late developer. Making his AFL debut late in the 2002 season, he was seen as a raw full-back who was some way from fully developing.

Western Bulldogs career

By the 2005 season, Lake's role in blanketing some of the best full-forwards in the game was seen as outstanding. He had come of age and shown significant improvement, much like many other of his Western Bulldogs teammates (such as Daniel Giansiracusa, Robert Murphy and Dale Morris), who led the team to within half a game of a finals' berth.

After a two-week suspension in 2006 which resulted in him missing the first two premiership matches, Lake made his return against St Kilda, where he was given the job on Fraser Gehrig, a dual-Coleman Medal winner.