Season in short

After missing all of 2015 with a knee injury, Liberatore did not miss a beat in his return season.

From the minute he booted the Dogs second goal of the season, a 45-metre shot off of his opposite boot, the 2014 Sutton Medallist looked back where he belonged.

While still ferocious at the contest and one of the game’s best in and under players, the 24-year-old added goal-kicking to his already bulging bag of tricks.  After kicking 18 goals in this first 77 AFL matches, Liberatore slotted 14 majors in 2016 and at 82.4%, had the highest strike rate of any Bulldog who kicked more than ten goals.

Still, it was his final three months of football that his season will be remembered for.

Struck down with a serious ankle injury against Geelong in round 19, his year looked to be over.  Instead, he returned to play a crucial role in the Dogs’ premiership run.

Heart and soul player who could be better again with a full season under his belt.

The stat that mattered

In round 8 against Melbourne, Liberatore laid a VFL/AFL record 19 tackles.

What they said

“I had a bit of bad luck but I learnt a fair bit from dealing with new injuries, it was a massive learning year.  It was a completely different year of footy to what my first four years were like before I did my knee.

“That first win over West Coast after we played that emphatically and won that well, I looked around and I looked at Suckers (Matthew Suckling) and said, ‘we’re half a chance here’ to go all the way.”