Brian Lake was back in a Caroline Springs jumper for the first time since returning from his much-publicised trip to Japan.
Lake made headlines in recent weeks after being detained by Japanese authorities following an incident in Osaka last month.
The 36-year-old former AFL star addressed the trip with his Caroline Springs teammates when he returned to the club and was unanimously welcomed back into the fold.
“He’s obviously gone through some hard times,” Lakers football manager Marc Raak said. “He came to the club and spoke to the club about exactly what happened, his side of the story.
“He spoke to the players as well and said this is what’s happened to me, these are the circumstances and we’ve accepted that and moved on.”
Lake was superb for Caroline Springs in his return game in a 24-point win over Wyndhamvale in the Western Region Football League division 1 at Wyndham Vale South Oval on Saturday.
More importantly, Lake relished the chance to be back playing among his mates again.
“The good thing about footy clubs is that you can leave things behind at the door,” Raak said.
“You go and play footy and it’s a bit of a release on life I suppose.
“I could see him enjoying it today and it’s a credit to him how he’s handled himself since he’s been back.”
Lake had a steadying effect over Caroline Springs with his work in the defence.
It was his first game for the Lakers since April 21, though he was still match fit as he played abroad.
“Having Brian back in the backline steadied the ship a little bit,” Raak said.
Caroline Springs took another step forward as a top-flight club. The Lakers have won three of their past five matches and four this season.
“We’ve now won four games for the year, which is double the amount of games we won last year,” Raak said. “We said the first year was about staying in division 1, the second year was about growing and getting more wins and we’ve done that now.
“If we can sneak another win in, we’ll be absolutely delighted.”
Caroline Springs found Wyndhamvale a tough nut to crack.
The Lakers’ fast start, where they kicked out to a 29-point quarter-time lead, was crucial, as Wyndhamvale kept snapping at their heels.
“It’s always hard going down there to Wyndhamvale, but we got the result,” Raak said. “It was a bit messy at times, but we were rapt to get the win.”
Fans got another glimpse into the future of Caroline Springs.
The Lakers have often fielded inexperienced teams this season, but this was one of its youngest.
“It’s one of the youngest sides we’ve put out on to the park this year,” Raak said.
“We had four under-19s and a 15-year-old kid that played his second senior game.”
Raak praised the impact that midfielders Jason Degabriele and Jacob Hislop had for Caroline Springs at critical times in the match.
Rex Hickman kicked three goals for the Lakers, while Jy Lambley and Akat Mayoum added two goals apiece.
