Western Bulldogs champion and Brownlow medalist Tony Liberatore says Bulldogs recruit Caleb Daniel is set to become "a cult hero" at the Whitten Oval.
The 168cm South Australian was selected by the Bulldogs with pick No.46 in the 2014 NAB AFL Draft, and is the shortest player to be drafted into the AFL since Liberatore, who stands at 163cm.
Daniel played 11 senior SANFL games with South Adelaide this year and had no trouble matching it with bigger-bodied opponents, impressing Liberatore, who has already nicknamed him "Mighty Mouse".
"I've seen Caleb play in a couple of matches and I was very, very impressed with the way he played," Liberatore told AFL.com.au.
"I love hearing little guys getting up there and I'm very excited for Caleb. I want to see more small players come back and play AFL footy again, it's wonderful. I can see him being a cult hero actually. He should be a really exciting prospect.
Liberatore's son and 2014 Bulldogs' best and fairest winner, Tom, has been paired with Daniel to mentor the youngster in his first year at the Whitten Oval.
Daniel told AFL.com.au he would ask Tom in the coming days if he could have a chat to his dad, and get some advice.
"I think it would be good for my development if I did speak to Tony," Daniel said.
"It'd be good to get a couple of cheeky little insiders on how to be a small man in the game. Obviously Tony is a legend of not only this football club but the League, so I'd love to have a chat with him."
Liberatore said he would be more than happy to oblige and give the 18-year-old some guidance.
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog," Liberatore said.
It's a phrase Daniel is well and truly familiar with, and instead of letting his height hold him back, he has embraced it.
"It can be a little frustrating at times, but I can't hide away from it," he said.
"At 168cm tall, that's just me. That's my make up, that's my personality."
The small midfielder played under former St Kilda and Fitzroy player Brad Gotch at South Adelaide in 2014.
Gotch, who worked as an assistant coach at Collingwood and at Port Adelaide as an opposition analyst, is a similar size to Daniel, measuring in at 166cm.
Gotch's experience and knowledge of the AFL system has helped Daniel immensely in the past 12 months, with the Bulldogs youngster confident it will allow him to take the next step at AFL level.
"Brad brought in an AFL game-plan and really changed a lot of things this year," Daniel said.
"Our aerobic capacity, our fitness all improved and he basically took me into an AFL system before I was even drafted into the AFL.
"Obviously being a short player, and having been in the AFL system previously, Gotchy has been able to tell me what I need to improve on, what sort of things I need to do to make it as an AFL footballer.
"I've already played against men, and played on people bigger than me. It's great to have that knowledge and experience and hopefully it holds me in good stead but I'm just going to work my hardest out here at the Bulldogs and do everything possible to push into the senior side."
