The Stawell Gift is typically the race to watch during the Easter long weekend, but the Tom Liberatore chase-down tackle on Saint Brad Hill was just as thrilling under the roof at Marvel Stadium.

The 32-year-old midfield bull took it upon himself to stop Hill from running amok on the wing, earning himself a standing ovation from the Bulldogs faithful in the process.

“I hit my max velocity on the GPS apparently - I just cracked 30km/hr I think,” Liberatore told Channel 7 post-match.

“I knew (Hill) was going to take me on. As soon as you see that sort of player, you just know you have to go.”

Liberatore was instrumental in the 71-point win on Easter Sunday night, collecting 29 disposals, seven tackles and a goal.

Having finished up his stand-in captaincy stint with Marcus Bontempelli returning to the action, Liberatore said he couldn’t believe the star Dog’s output.

“It was a big workload, but I was obviously very proud to (take on the captaincy). Not in those circumstances but I loved it,” he said.

“I walked out at half time, looked at the scoreboard (at Bontempelli’s stats), and then turned to Ed and just went ‘far out’.

“I remember having 3-4, even two weeks out of the game and I can’t even tick over 20 disposals for the game.

“It’s no surprise but he still deserves the credit - you can’t look past how hard he’s worked through rehab.”