BRIAN Lake says he’s ready to make his debut for Hawthorn if he gets the call up from Coach, Alastair Clarkson.

Lake’s name has been thrust to the forefront of the selection mix at Hawthorn after young defender Ryan Schoenmakers ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in Saturday’s win over Fremantle at Aurora Stadium.

A late withdrawal from Hawthorn’s Round 1 loss to Geelong, Lake has been forced to play for the Club’s VFL affiliate Box Hill in the aim of conditioning himself for senior football.

Now, he has played three matches at VFL level and declares, he’s ready for senior action.

“I’m ready to go if I get the call up,” Lake told hawthornfc.com.au

“For me, and every other guy that wants to play senior football, we need to get a certain amount of game time under our belt.

“I’ve got that now having played three games down at Box Hill and my body is feeling really good.”

Lake reveals he was ready to step into the Hawthorn side last week, but after Fremantle Captain Matthew Pavlich was ruled out with an achilles injury, his debut was postponed for team balance.

“I was pretty much ready to go last week, but with match-ups and Matthew Pavlich going out of the side (I didn’t play),” he said.

“I’ve played three games at Box Hill but I’ve also been training well, I’ve been able to get all the training done during the week, I’ve had a good month block now of match fitness but also training fitness as well.

“I’m ready to go.”

The Hawks recruit has been in excellent form for Box Hill, with his best game coming in its Round 2 win over Essendon at Windy Hill.

In that game, Lake gathered 21 possessions and took nine marks while playing as the side’s key backman.

While he has fulfilled a key defensive role for the Club’s VFL affiliate, Lake has also enjoyed more time up the ground with the aim of further conditioning himself for senior action.

“I’ve still been playing in that key defensive post, but also getting into the rotation of having some more time up the ground to get that little bit more match fitness,” he said.

“That’s the role I’ve got to play, to be able to get up higher and use the ball, you can’t just rely on five defenders to be getting the ball out and setting up the play, all six of us have to contribute.”

Now that he’s ready for senior footy, Lake says there’s no better time to make his debut for the Club.

“On the MCG against North Melbourne in a big game, it’d be a great one to play my first game for Hawthorn Football Club,” he said.