HAWTHORN defender Brian Lake has revealed he played in the preliminary final and Grand Final against medical advice, after being hospitalised with internal bleeding early in the finals series.
Lake suffered a corked hip against Collingwood in round 23 but felt it worsen late in the third term against Geelong in the qualifying final.
It felt even worse during the last quarter, and Lake told Triple M that he knew something was seriously wrong, lying awake early the following morning.
Tests revealed he had internal bleeding and he underwent surgery to halt it.
"I got 100ml of blood drained out of my right hip… straight after the [Geelong] game to relieve some of the pressure," Lake said on Saturday.
"But about 3 o'clock in the morning, I gave the wife a tap on the shoulder and said 'I think you might need to drive me to the hospital'.
"I was in hospital for three days and ended up having an operation – I burst a blood vessel around the abdomen, so we had to go in and block that up to stop the bleeding.
"I was able to recover…the doctor actually didn't give a good report on it. He said I probably shouldn't play for the rest of the year - but the club doctor said 'he's just talking crap, that guy'."
Lake was sensational in the Grand Final, collecting 20 disposals and taking seven marks.
The former Western Bulldogs defender has been a lucky charm for his new club since moving in 2012, winning two premierships and a Norm Smith Medal with the Hawks.
His ex-teammate and good friend Adam Cooney recently followed suit, leaving the Bulldogs to join Essendon.
Lake said Cooney rang him after the season to discuss his options and asked for advice.
"He gave me a call and just asked for my advice on the options he had in front of him and of what [I thought] he should do," Lake said.
"My advice was, you go into that bigger club in Essendon and you play in a lot of bigger games."
