Lake has 'tall gorillas' covered

Josh Gibson says former Western Bulldogs defender Brian Lake will be a welcome addition to Hawthorn's backline. Picture: Nicole Garmston Source: Herald Sun

JOSH Gibson says new teammate Brian Lake will ease the pressure on Hawthorn's tall defenders this season.

Gibson said Lake would change the way he previously had to play the game and said the former Bulldog had already given him invaluable defensive insights.

"Obviously it's another big body to play on some of those tall gorillas," Gibson said.

"It's going to make my job a lot easier as well as some of the other guys...we can flick ideas off one another and work on our little secrets to beat certain forwards.

"He's slotted in really nicely and is going to be a really valuable member of the team this year."

Without Lake to support him, Gibson has already been the AFL's pre-eminent spoiler for the past three seasons, making 125 more spoils than anyone else since 2010.

Asked specifically what Lake's recruitment meant for him, Gibson said: "I might not have to play on some of those taller gorillas. I suppose it will allow me to match up on players more my height."

Youngster Ryan Schoenmakers also stands to benefit from Lake's presence in the backline given he won't be required to play on the opposition's best forward as much as he has in season's past.

"The beautiful thing about having Lakey is that he's really going to help develop Schoey's game and really help him work out how to play certain forwards," Gibson said.

"Schoey's improving all of the time and I think people forget how young he is. He's 22 and he's playing that key defender role which isn't easy.

"I'm sure he'll enjoy having Brian down there just as much as I will."

Despite the hype surrounding Lake's arrival, Gibson stressed the club's defence was not the only area that needed addressing in the wake of last year's agonising grand final defeat.

"I don't think it all comes down to our defence, there's plenty of areas all over the field that we want to improve on," he said.

"Marking those key forwards is one of the pieces of the puzzle and he's going to be really good for us in that sense, but we're not putting all of our eggs in one basket and just worrying about our defensive work and nothing else.

"Every year the game evolves and you've got to keep evolving with it."
 

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