WESTERN Bulldogs members and fans have taken to social media to express their anguish at the club's decision to trade dual All Australian Brian Lake to Hawthorn.
However, while some supporters have gone so far as to predict a downturn in the club's membership, Bulldogs great and AFL.com.au's Luke Darcy said the Lake trade would eventually benefit the club.
"I think the Bulldogs have done a great deal. They need to build a premiership side, and Brian Lake's not in their next premiership side," Darcy told AFL.com.au.
"It's going to take some short-term pain. It's the right way to go about it, 100 per cent."
After the trade was announced on Monday, Bulldogs list manager Jason McCartney said the Lake trade placed the club in an unprecedented position to stockpile young talent, with six picks inside the first 50 at November's NAB AFL Draft.
"Given the stage Brian’s career is at, we see this as a very good proposition for the club," McCartney said.
However, some fans and members reacted savagely on social media. The club's official Facebook page was inundated with more than 600 comments, mostly negative, attacking the decision to trade the 30-year-old to Hawthorn.
"I will not be renewing my membership, 33 years of my life I have waited for success," Nate Vincent posted.
"Lake might be nearing 31 early next year, but for a lot of members, they feel like they have just had the rug pulled from under their feet!!" Amber Holland wrote.
Tristan Lutze took a sarcastic approach: "Thank God - the one criticism I had of the Dogs this year is that we had too much experience on the ground."
"Talk about leaving a sinking ship!!! I am very upset you have left us Brian," Wendy Marion McCarthy said.
Robert Fisher drew it all together: "Read the Hawthorn Facebook site and see how excited they are to get Lake. Then read the Bulldogs Facebook site. Poles apart."
The club tried to quell the concerns by setting the facts straight on Twitter, posting: "Just to confirm, we've received the Hawks' first 2 #AFLdraft picks (#21 and #41) in return for Lake and our second pick (#27) #afltrade.
But Bulldogs cheer-squad president Gary Munn said he feared the Lake trade would be a huge blow.
"I think is going to affect the membership of the football club badly. If we don't get off to a good start, we're in trouble next year," Munn told AFL.com.au.
"We survive on our membership, it's going to be down next year. I'm worried about where the Bulldogs are going to be in the next four to five years. It's going to take a long time to build this team back up.
"I am disappointed he's gone, I think he's a good player, he could have been one of the club's champion players."
The Bulldogs have the lowest membership of any Victorian-based club, at just over 30,000 - a drop of around 6 per cent on last year.
Matt Thompson is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter @MattThompsonAFL
Niall Seewang is a sub-editor at AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter @AFLN_Seewang
