Lake surprise call-up for tough Dogs

Posted May 28, 2011 14:17:00

A late selection reprieve will have Western Bulldogs full-back Brian Lake handed one of the AFL's toughest jobs as he and his club seek a huge form reversal against Hawthorn on Sunday.

The key defender will spend at least part of his day on in-form Hawks gun forward Lance Franklin, after Lake and fellow out-of-favour Dogs' star Lindsay Gilbee were called into the 22 on Saturday.

Neither had even been listed as emergencies when the side was originally named on Friday night.

Gilbee was dropped for a limp showing in last round's 123-point drubbing by West Coast, while All-Australian full-back Lake, who had several preseason operations, had missed the Dogs' past three games to find form and fitness in the VFL.

But injuries to Ryan Hargrave and Brodie Moles have opened the door.

Coach Rodney Eade was confident Lake's return was not premature and that Gilbee would still get the wake-up call he needed from his initial axing.

"I said to Brian when we put him back (to the VFL), it was never going to be a form issue, it was going to be more about him proving to us that he was confident enough, that he trained well enough," Eade said.

"This week he's trained pretty well, so on Thursday we trained and had (another) bit of a session (on Friday) and Brian actually knocked on the door and said 'Listen, I'm right, I think I'm confident enough.'"

Eade said given Gilbee believed he had been demoted before his reprieve, that should still be the "cattle prod" he needed to break a trend of alternating good and bad games.

The Bulldogs have made six changes in all, including the return of key forward Barry Hall, a debut for Christian Howard and the first senior game of the season for Sam Reid, who has had an injury-blighted six game career over three previous years at the club.

Ben Hudson, who started the season as the Dogs' number one ruckman, is out, with Eade saying he, like Gilbee, needed a "circuit-breaker" after inconsistent form.

Along with selection statements, Eade went "back to old times" this week, ordering an early morning beach session and some tough, competitive training in response to the embarrassing fade-out against the Eagles.

"It was a bit about cleansing the soul," he said.

While it will be a huge challenge to down the in-form Hawks, who named an unchanged side after their win over Sydney, Eade said the minimum requirement was a full game of maximum effort.

"That's got to be the basis on the weekend and the result will look after itself."

- AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, vic, footscray-3011, melbourne-3000

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Suns hoping to surprise Port Adelaide

Posted April 20, 2011 16:00:00

Gold Coast's lame start to its first AFL season could work in its favour against Port Adelaide at Football Park on Saturday, according to young Suns forward Dan Gorringe.

The 18-year-old Gorringe says the Power may be drawn into a false sense of security against the Suns, who have lost their opening three matches by an average of 93 points.

He drew similarities between the Power's playing list and that of the Gold Coast, although the Suns are more reliant on younger players.

"It will be good competition and a test for us against Port Adelaide," Gorringe said.

"If we can catch them off guard and play some good footy early we will go a long way to winning the game.

"The are a lot like us, they are a young list.

"If we get out there and hit them hard, because they won't be expecting big things from us, [we might be able to] catch them off guard early ... this is one we might get a win over."

Many feel the Suns will not win a match in their debut season after choosing to invest heavily in young players and the future rather than recruiting seasoned veterans.

Having such a young list and more than a dozen first year players in the side means the Suns are prone to mistakes and simple turnovers and lack physically mature bodies to handle a full game.

Gorringe admits the Suns' inconsistency has been very costly and they need to string together four solid quarters to seriously challenge for a win.

"[Port Adelaide] are a bit of an up-and-down side and can be a bit like us - inconsistent," Gorringe said.

"Last week was a good chance to get a win but we fell away in the fourth quarter.

"Consistency, being competitive and hard at the ball for four quarters (are the key to winning), being so young it's hard to keep it up for four quarters, so if we can focus on that area I think we can win."

Taken at number 10 in the 2010 national draft, Gorringe will be slightly more familiar with the vast expanses of Football Park, having played at the ground in the under 18 competition and in a final with Norwood.

- AAP

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