Tom Liberatore

Liberatore made his debut in the Western Bulldogs' Round one defeat to Essendon,[7] collecting 19 disposals, 1 behind and 7 clearances in front of a 42,617 person crowd.[8] Liberatore gathered 28 disposals in just his second game ever, also laying 10 tackles,[9] a glimpse of the high pressure player he was going to become. The Western Bulldogs' 35 point win over Richmond in Round 8 showed the power Liberatore could bring to a game, after he collected 25 disposals, kicked 2 goals and laid 6 tackles.[10] Liberatore played 16 games in his debut season, averaging over 18 possessions per game and winning the Chris Grant Best First Year Player Award after an impressive debut season.[11][12]

The 2012 season was not a good one for Liberatore, being sanctioned by the club for drug offences after just 17 games for the season. Liberatore had one of his best games for the season in the Western Bulldogs' 38 point win over Gold Coast in Round 8 of the 2012 AFL season, kicking the team's opening goal and collecting 24 disposals and 6 tackles.[13] Liberatore broke his record for most disposals in a game after a 29 disposal haul against the Brisbane Lions in Round 13 of the 2012 AFL season.[14] In the early hours of 5 August 2012, after a heavy loss to the Kangaroos in Round 19, Liberatore was found by police unconscious on King Street and was questioned about drug offences. He was subsequently suspended for the remainder of the season by the Bulldogs. In addition, he was issued a $5,000 suspended fine, required to undergo club-driven counselling and education, and be engaged in full-time employment for the following six weeks.[15] Liberatore issued a public apology for his actions.[11] Despite missing out on 5 games, Liberatore came 7th in the Charles Sutton Medal voting and polled 81 votes, 87 votes behind winner Matthew Boyd.[16]

Liberatore redeemed himself the following season, establishing himself as one of the AFL's premier inside midfielders; he ranked first in the league for clearances[17] and second in contested possessions, behind only Sydney's Josh Kennedy. Liberatore had one of his career-best games against Melbourne in the final round of the 2013 AFL season, kicking 1 goal, collecting 26 disposals, and 11 tackles, just one tackle off his record at the time. He was named as best on ground for that game.[18] He also had another best on ground performance against Essendon, collecting 33 disposals, a goal, 6 tackles and 4 marks.[19] Liberatore signed a three-year contact extension with the Bulldogs in August, tying him to the club until 2016.[20] He was recognized for his impressive efforts for the season with selection in the AFL Players' Association's inaugural 22under22 team. He was named as a follower alongside Tom Nicholls and Jaeger O'Meara.[21][22] He also claimed the Doug Hawkins Medal (best and fairest runner up), after polling 242 votes, just 31 votes behind winner Ryan Griffen.[23] He won the Tony Liberatore Most Improved Player award at the Bulldogs' best-and-fairest count,[23] and also polled 14 votes at the Brownlow Medal count.[24]

While 2014 was a chaotic year for the Western Bulldogs, Liberatore continued his outstanding individual form, registering over 500 possessions for the second consecutive season and leading the league in tackles, tallying up an astonishing 173 tackles throughout the season, while also leading in clearances, finishing with a total of 156.[25] Liberatore had an outstanding performance against Melbourne in Round 8 of the 2014 AFL season, kicking 2 goals, collecting 27 disposals and getting a career-high 14 tackles.[26][27] He also had a great game against Collingwood in Round 13, leading the game in tackles (10), contested possessions (23), and disposals (34).[28] Liberatore was recognised for having his most successful season yet, winning his first Charles Sutton Medal. He polled 235 votes, a 67 votes ahead of second placed Jack Macrae.[29][30] He also won a plethora of other club awards, including the Scott West Most Courageous Player Award, the John Van Groningen Team First Award, and the Brad Johnson Best Team Player.[29][31] He was also named in the initial 40 man squad of the 2014 All-Australian team.[32][33] Coach Brendan McCartney praised his efforts at the end of the season, stating "He's tough, he uses the ball well, he defends and he cares deeply about this club and he's a fighter."[33]

Liberatore had a horror 2015 AFL season, missing the entire season due to a shock knee injury after Richmond player Ty Vickery tackled him and his leg buckled under the weight of the tackle in the Western Bulldogs's 22 point victory over Richmond in Round 1 of the 2015 pre-season.[34][35][36] Liberatore signed a contract extension that kept him tied to the Bulldogs until the end of the 2018 season.[37]

Liberatore was a key driving force as the Bulldogs broke their 62-year premiership drought, playing 21 games over the course of the season. Liberatore kicked 14 goals over the course of the season, the most goals he kicked in a season.[38] Liberatore tied the AFL record for most tackles in one game in the Western Bulldogs's 32 point victory against Melbourne in the 8th round of the 2016 AFL season, collecting an astonishing 19 tackles over the course of the game due to the absence of running half-backs such as Bob Murphy and Jason Johannisen.[39][40] His record has only been matched by Jack Ziebell and Jude Bolton.[41][42] Coach Luke Beveridge lauded his efforts after the game, stating "We're not a huge tackling side because we are a high possession side, but that was almost a quarter of our tackles I think. It's quite extraordinary, in particular his third and fourth efforts."[43] Liberatore also had a great game against Port Adelaide in the 12th round of the season, gaining 24 disposals,[44] 1 goal, 8 tackles and 13 clearances.[45] He went down with a syndesmosis injury in the Western Bulldogs's 25 point loss to Geelong in the 19th round of the 2016 season, alongside teammate Jack Macrae who suffered a hamstring injury.[46] To get him fit for the finals series, doctors used a rarely-used strategy involving the insertion of surgical string into his ankle in order to aid the recovery of his ankle at a quicker pace.[46] He played every game in the 2016 finals series, during that time collecting a total of 79 disposals, 22 tackles, 23 clearances and 5 marks.[47] Liberatore played in the 2016 AFL Grand Final despite an ankle injury suffered in the preliminary final the previous week, during his celebrations.[48] Liberatore just missed out on the Top 3 of the Charles Sutton Medal voting, placing 4th behind winner Marcus Bontempelli, runner up Dale Morris and third placed Lachie Hunter.[49] He also won the Scott West Most Courageous Player Award.[50]

Tom Liberatore during a pre-season match against Melbourne in 2017

Liberatore's form dropped off in what was to be a disappointing season for both him and the Western Bulldogs. Playing 18 games, Liberatore averaged much lower amounts of kicks, handballs, disposals, marks and goals then he had in all previous years, and critics described his season as disappointing.[51][52] Before this slump in form however, Liberatore started off the season with 4 solid games, getting a total of 47 tackles, 77 disposals and 2 goals. However, after these first 4 games he entered a period of poor form, only cracking 20 or more disposals 5 more times for the rest of the season. Liberatore's pressure was one of the few things keeping him in the team, averaging 6.5 tackles per game, the second best season for tackles in his career.[53] That wasn't enough for him to keep his spot in the team, and was dropped due to an incredibly poor 8 disposal game against West Coast in the 8th round of the 2017 AFL season, after which coach Luke Beveridge decided he needed some time in the VFL.[54][55][56] Liberatore did not make the Top 10 of the Charles Sutton Medal voting for only the third time in his career, missing out in his debut season and in 2015.[57]

Tom Liberatore at training in August 2018

Liberatore had another hapless season in 2018 after he suffered a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee in the Western Bulldogs' 82 point loss to Greater Western Sydney in the opening round of the season.[58][59][60] The club confirmed that he would sit out the entire season the next day.[61][62][63] During his rehabilitation, he took time to engage in other activities outside of football.[64] Liberatore signed a one-year contract extension at the conclusion of the season.[65][66]

It was another mediocre season for Liberatore, despite the Bulldogs making finals for the first time since 2016. Liberatore played 16 games, missing 8 throughout the season. Liberatore played every game until a cartilage injury to his knee in the Western Bulldogs' nail-biting 3 point victory over Carlton in the 13th round of the 2020 AFL season saw him miss rounds 14–17, before returning in round 18.[67][68][69] Despite initial fears that the injury was a second Anterior cruciate ligament injury, it was cleared as a more minor injury.[70][71][72] He had one of his best games for the season in the Western Bulldogs's 5 point loss against Gold Coast in the third round after a solid start to the season, where he collected 30 disposals, 9 tackles and 12 clearances, named the Bulldogs' second best behind Marcus Bontempelli.[73] He also had another great game against Hawthorn the previous round, collecting 28 disposals, 1 goal and 7 tackles.[74] He was named as one of their best on ground.[75] For the 3rd year in a row, Liberatore did not reach the top 10 of the Charles Sutton Medal voting.[76][77] He signed a two-year contract extension which kept him at the club until at least the end of 2021.[78][79]

Liberatore enjoyed a season of good form after a chaotic year for the AFL due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He missed out on the first two rounds of the 2020 AFL season with knee soreness, the Bulldogs not taking any chances after Liberatore's shocking history with knee injuries.[80][81] Liberatore missed the first two rounds, but came back in for the team's 4 goal win over Greater Western Sydney in the 3rd round of the season.[82][83] In that game he kicked a goal after the siren at 3 quarter time and collected 18 disposals.[84][85] A season best game in the Western Bulldogs' 6 goal victory against Hawthorn in the 17th round of the season came with a 28 disposal, 9 tackle performance despite the 16 minute quarters as a result of rule changes brought about by the COVID-19 Pandemic.[86] He was named as one of the team's best on ground.[87] He also played a similarly impressive game in the final round of the home and away season which saw him named the Bulldogs' best on ground,[88] gathering 25 disposals, 8 tackles and 7 clearances.[89] Liberatore collected multiple awards at the conclusion of the season, including the Gary Dempsey Medal for third place in the Charles Sutton Medal voting, where he finished 45 votes behind winner Caleb Daniel and 30 votes behind captain Marcus Bontempelli.[90][91] He also won the John Van Groningen Domestique Award,[90][91] which honours the player who puts the team above all else on the field.[92] Liberatore obtained the Brad Johnson Best Team Player Award for the second time in his career.[90][91][93]