THREE-TIME Hawthorn premiership player Brian Lake has ruled out a return to the AFL as a possible top-up player for Essendon.
Lake's name was raised as a possible option for the Bombers following the Court of Arbitration for Sport's ruling to ban 12 current Essendon players for the entire 2016 season.
The AFL announced the Bombers can promote five rookies to the senior list and add 10 top-up players to their list for the coming season.
But Lake told Fox Sports on Wednesday he was not interested, despite giving it some thought.
"I have considered it for the last 24 hours but since retirement I've definitely let myself go and I've enjoyed the last three months, so for me I'm very happy to be spending my time playing football at Caroline Springs for the next year and the year after that," Lake said.
"I just see it as too hard a task and for myself, missing most of the pre-season in 2011, I know how hard it is to come back and play AFL football if you've missed two or three months of training.
"I can't see any other retired player being able to do it unless they've kept themselves in really good shape.
"You're probably looking at guys who have come from the SANFL or the VFL or even the WAFL as well, guys that have done the pre-season with their sides before Christmas. Those guys are probably going to get the opportunity."
In contrast, former Collingwood midfielder Sam Dwyer said he was keen for another shot at an AFL career with the Dons – if they were interested.
"It’d be nice to get a call-up and get the opportunity to continue my AFL career, but it’s in their hands," he told The Standard.
"I think I am still in reasonable shape. I’m not up to AFL level quite as much but it won’t take me long to pick things up and get back into the swing of things."
Lake also revealed his close friend Adam Cooney, a former Western Bulldogs teammate, has been weighed down by what has happened at Essendon.
"He's been struggling this pre-season with it," Lake said.
"I've spent a fair bit of time with him in the last couple of weeks and he's finding it very hard.
"That's the thing with the guys around the club. You've got the 34 players that have had the issues and the 12 that have been suspended but the other guys around the team as well are struggling with this.
"Adam has had a really good pre-season with John Worsfold coming into the (club) and changing a lot of their game-plan and their defensive actions. But missing 12 players now throws a spanner in the works for those guys. They sort of nearly go back to the drawing board and work out a game-plan now on what is going to best suit the personnel they've got on the field."
Lake also suggested that if Essendon captain Jobe Watson was stripped of the 2012 Brownlow Medal, then Hawthorn premiership teammate Sam Mitchell would accept the award, given he and Richmond's Trent Cotchin tied for second that season.
"(Sam's) been very public with his thoughts on the subject," Lake said.
"For him to finish second in that year, if he does get the medal he's going to take it, no doubt about that.
"He's going to accept it but you still take it with an insight of what's happened and a little bit of a sour taste to it."
