It’s pretty good to be Brian Lake right now.

The Hawthorn defender admits he is blessed to have found himself at an AFL club bound for finals, giving him a chance to erase a major career disappointment.

Lake has fallen short of the grand final multiple times with previous club the Western Bulldogs, playing in three losing preliminary final teams between 2008 and 2010.

But with the Hawks top of the ladder and the warmest of premiership favourites, Lake has found himself aged 31 with a chance to put things right.

“Reasonably blessed, you would say, coming into a side that’s premiership contenders and slotting in to the backline,” said Lake, who was traded to the Hawks at the end of last season .

“I’m very happy to be at the club. When you’re at the top of the ladder, it makes life a lot more enjoyable football-wise.”

Lake took several weeks to establish himself in the Hawks’ side, stepping in when key defender Ryan Schoenmakers went down with a season-ending knee injury.

With his 14th match for the Hawks looming in Saturday’s MCG clash with Richmond, Lake admits the move to Hawthorn has fuelled his hunger for both the game – and the shot at a grand final which has beckoned but not yet eventuated.

“It’s huge. You can see the door closing on the career, so it’s good to be at a side in the premiership window,” Lake said.

“There are guys around that bracket of 25 to 26 (years old) and there are senior blokes as well. It’s exciting. It does revitalise you coming to a new side.

“I’ve slimmed down, travel a little bit further, but I’m enjoying every minute of it.”

The Hawks come off an outstanding victory over Essendon and have an eight-day break going into their clash with Richmond.

The Tigers lost by 47 points to premiers Sydney on Sunday.