DOB: 23 August 1949
Debut: Round 12, 1968 against Fitzroy at Princes Park
Last MFC Game: Round 2, 1972 against Footscray at MCG
From: West Broken Hill
Number: 39 (1968), 9 (1969-1972)
Honours
Reserves Premiership Player - 1970
Games: 49 (55 total)
Goals: 20 (22 total)
Career Statistics
Wins | Draws | Losses | Winning % |
15 | 1 | 33 | 30.61 |
Originally of the Theodoroulakes family, Lakes' father - a first generation migrant to Australia - changed his family's name to make it more anglicised.
In 1963 he was named the best player at the Australian school championships and was keenly sought by clubs in both Victoria and South Australia before choosing to sign with Melbourne. Secretary Jim Cardwell declared Lakes the best footballer of his age in the country when he chose to sign with the Demons at the end of 1967. Melbourne got their man for a reported $7000 and the promise of playing a practice match against the Broken Hill league during 1968. Cardwell scoffed at the figure but suggested that whatever the club had paid they'd gotten a bargain.
Eight of 10 SANFL clubs had tried to recruit Lakes, so even after his club and the Broken Hill League had cleared him the transfer to Melbourne was held up by the South Australian authorities until late June 1968.
Debuting midway through the 1968 season under new coach John Beckwith Lakes retained his spot in the side for the rest of the year and played a further 15 matches in 1969 despite a rocky year in which he had to have cartilage removed from his knee and was spat at by a spectator while being carried off on a stretcher in the Round 15 match against Essendon at Windy Hill.
Unable to cement a permanent spot in the team over the next two years he played 10 games in 1970 after recovering from a knee operation and another 13 in 1971 before being given a clearance to South Melbourne midway through 1972 after having played just two games for the year. He played six straight matches for the Swans between rounds 12 and 17 before dropping out of the side and then out of league football at the end of the year. Lakes later worked in sports medicine.
Carlton defender Vasil Varlamos was his cousin.
Year | Games | Goals | Brownlow |
1968 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
1969 | 15 | 13 | 1 |
1970 | 10 | 4 | 0 |
1971 | 13 | 2 | 0 |
1972 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Lists
South Melbourne
Media
Age - 13/12/1967
Age - 19/04/1968
Age - 13/05/1968
Age - 29/06/1968
Age - 30/04/1969
Age - 23/04/1970
Age - 14/06/1972
Links
Wikipedia profile