RICHMOND forward Nathan Brown isn’t buying claims that Western Bulldogs defender Brian Lake is injured, instead saying the defender’s decision to take himself from the field late in Sunday’s thrilling draw was “clever”.
Lake was at the centre of controversy in the two teams’ tied match when he took a big pack mark with just 30 seconds remaining, only to then suffer an injury and be helped from the field by trainers.
Not known for his prowess in front of goal, Lake was unable to shoot for the sticks, and big Will Minson was left to nail the crucial set shot which led to the drawn game.
While the Bulldogs released a statement on Monday morning saying Lake would undergo an ultrasound on Monday afternoon, Brown said he wasn’t convinced of Lake’s hamstring injury.
“I don’t think Brian was injured, I just think Brian was very clever,” the former Bulldog said at Richmond’s recovery at Punt Road Oval.
“He got the kick [given] to someone else, they got the two [premiership] points which was what he wanted. I think it was very clever from Brian.”
Brown praised Minson – whom he described as a “phenomenal” kick for goal – for his cool finish.
The colossal forward’s third goal for the day tied the scores on 130 apiece.
The Tigers then pushed forward in the dying seconds with the ball kicked in Brown’s direction as the siren sounded.
Photos in Monday’s newspapers showed Brown celebrating what he thought was a Tigers victory at the siren, only for him to realise his mistake when he saw the reaction of teammates and fans.
“I really don’t know what I thought,” Brown explained.
“I knew it [scores] was level when the ball was bounced. The best explanation I can give is, we got it up our end and I thought that they didn’t score, so it must have been good for us.
“I just got a bit lost up in my own mind there and it was pretty embarrassing.”
Despite only taking two premiership points from the contest instead of the four it probably should have, Brown said the Tigers were playing much better football in recent weeks.
But he was reluctant to say this Richmond side had achieved anything just yet.
“Oh, I don’t think we’ve proven the critics wrong,” he said.
“I think we’re just trying to get a little bit of self belief at the moment that we can compete with the good teams. We’ve got a lot of work to do but we’re quietly confident going forward that we can match it with sides.”
Click here to see video of Nathan Brown's press conference.
