After living through season 2013 and all Brian Lake achieved in his first year at Hawthorn it is impossible to think some doubted the decision to recruit him.
“He’s too old”, “his knees are shot”, “he’s no longer in the best five defenders” were some of the comments made by critics when he was traded to the Club on the opening day of the 2012 trade period.
Fast forward a year and Lake has been the recruit of the year having held down the full back position, formed strong partnerships with fellow defenders Josh Gibson and Ben Stratton and helped the Hawks to a Premiership.
Not even the man himself could have predicted what would happen in 2013 even though it was his dream when he decided to leave the Bulldogs for premiership contenders, Hawthorn.
He took it week by week, never once getting ahead of himself or the team as media commentators dared to dream about the fairy tale ending to 2013 for the 31 year old.
Lake played 21 of a possible 25 games and not one of those a bad one.
Initially, he was made to work for his place in the side thanks to the impressive form of youngster Ryan Schoenmakers who unfortunately suffered a season-ending knee injury in Round 4.
The veteran full back proved his worth immediately on debut for the Club though, as he took game-saving marks against North Melbourne in Round 5 as the Kangaroos tried valiantly to pinch victory in the dying minutes.
He was named in the best in Hawthorn’s big win over Sydney in the Grand Final re-match in Round 7 before again playing a key role and named among the best in a game in which Hawthorn were challenged, in Round 12 against Carlton.
Lake said he took a while to fit into his new surroundings but his performances on the field gave a different impression.
By midway through the home-and-away season, Lake was consistently named in the best and his partnership with Gibson was one of the best in the league.
The Hawks, with the help of their new recruit who took on the opposition’s best forward week in, week out were ranked top five for points conceded – among the stingiest defences in the competition.
Lake averaged 7.5 marks per game and was ranked sixth in the competition for total marks across the 23 rounds and seventh for contested marks league-wide. He was ranked number one at the Club in both those areas and ranked top three for one percenters too.
He nullified the influence of Collingwood’s Travis Cloke in Round 21 – a player the Hawks have historically struggled to contain, and was the key reason why the Hawks were able to secure a crucial victory against the Pies in that game.
But Lake, a player who had never experienced a Grand Final at his old club despite coming agonisingly close on two occasions saved his best for the finals series.
Sydney’s Kurt Tippett (the best performed forward in the competition in the second half of the season) had next to no influence on the game to just eight disposals in the Qualifying Final and Lake did the same to Tom Hawkins in the Preliminary Final.
While those performances were brilliant, they were merely an entrée to what he served up in the Grand Final, a performance that would go down as one of the best in AFL history and the culmination of one of the best stories in the game.
Lake dominated the 2013 Grand Final and his opponent, Fremantle skipper Matthew Pavlich and was duly named best on ground, winning the Norm Smith Medal.
He had 22 disposals from full back and took 10 marks – several of which came off the boot of an opposition player.
His ability to read the game and get into the right spots to thwart countless Fremantle forward 50 entries was something to behold and left many in awe of his ability.
Pavlich had little influence on the game, aside from a purple patch in the third quarter. Lake was his master.
It was an outstanding end to an outstanding season for the Hawthorn veteran who worked hard over pre-season to achieve what he did in 2013.
As one of Hawthorn’s most experienced players, he will see the importance of working just as hard over pre-season heading into 2014 to climb the ladder once again because he, probably more than anyone knows just how difficult it is to maintain a high level of play and how hard it is to reach the pinnacle.
What Chris Fagan said: “He did the job we got him here to do in the end.
“He was recruited to play on the big players in the big games and he delivered fully in the Grand Final.
“He was a very consistent performer throughout the finals and had some terrific games during the season as well.
“It’s not an easy task to fit into a new team but he was able to do that. Early days he found it a bit different but he certainly became part of a really strong backline group.”
Lake in the news in 2013
- Lake describes premiership as “unbelievable”
- Lake tops it off with Norm Smith
- Lake’s perfect script almost complete
Videos featuring Lake in 2013
- Lake’s Norm Smith
- Pre-Grand Final: Lake and Burgoyne speak
