It’s been said many a time that Tom Liberatore makes his teammates walk just a little bit taller.

And it didn’t take long for him to make his presence felt against the GWS Giants.

It didn’t have anything to do with a stats sheet.

It was an arm around the shoulder of opposition skipper Stephen Coniglio, a gentle ruffle of the hair, and some – we imagine, friendly – advice, after he’d put Marcus Bontempelli on the ground to give away a 50m penalty and gift Josh Dunkley the first goal of the game.

‘I’m back’

In his first game since August last year due to knee issues, Liberatore returned in a big way in a prime-time stoush with the new kids on the block.

He collected 18 disposals and won four clearances, impressing both inside the stoppage and with some of his delivery by foot on the outside.

“I thought Libba made a difference,” senior coach Luke Beveridge said post-game.

“His work in the ‘phone box’ early in the game was quite outstanding, his hands were brilliant.

“He went out and put some physical pressure on, I thought he was great up around the stoppage supporting our mids, and he did some work on the outside which was great to see.

“It’s a good step in the right direction for him.

It’s been a long road back from the knee injuries and it’s fantastic to see him back in the colours and performing the way he did tonight for the team.”

For Liberatore, it was nice to finally get back out on the park after missing the opening two rounds.

Being thrown into the fire of such a physical contest only seemed to spur him on.

“I think it showed our discipline and how calm we were,” Liberatore said.

“They tried to throw us around a bit, but it didn’t really work. We played hard at the footy and it showed.”

Perhaps the midfielder’s most telling contribution was on the three-quarter time siren, as all hell broke loose around him.

Liberatore’s kick was dead straight – giving the Bulldogs a 27-point lead at the final change.

“There was a fair bit going on… I had to hold the ball and make sure I didn’t join in,” he said.

“It was relieving to put it through and give us some momentum going into the last quarter.”