The Western Bulldogs are riding high on possibility, says midfield star Tom Liberatore.
With a spot in the preliminary final booked, the 24-year-old slumped against a wall in the rooms.
WATCH: 'The Bont' shines brightly
His ankle was iced while celebrations raged around him.
"It's good to keep riding the wave," Liberatore told AFL.com.au.
"[We] feel like we're a bunch of young kids just coming in and rolling hot and knocking off the old dogs. [We'll] see how we go."
Those old dogs he spoke of were in reality old Hawks, mostly three, some four-time premiership players, up against a bunch of talented upstarts that play honest and committed football for a team that hasn't been in a Grand Final for 55 years.
Their ball use was too clean and they looked too quick for the grand masters of modern finals football.
Liberatore is part of a midfield that is suddenly turning heads quicker than most shoot-out handballs.
Jackson Macrae, Marcus Bontempelli, Caleb Daniel, Luke Dahlhaus, Lachie Hunter, Toby McLean and Liam Picken all work for and with each other.
Mitch Wallis is missing through injury but he is there in spirit, as is Lin Jong.
Liberatore says there is "a good chemistry".
It's not something that can be measured easily, but with this Bulldogs line-up there is an energy their coach might call ‘the vibe’.
Some had doubted whether Liberatore's effort to play so well against West Coast after five weeks off could be replicated against Hawthorn.
But not the man himself who knows what it takes to battle the odds.
"It's in the blood…so all good," Liberatore said.
His dad, Tony, played in three losing preliminary finals with a Bulldogs line-up that was as big on heart as this model is on class.
But this 24-year-old has both – heart and class – and he is not planning on falling off the wave and into deep water anytime soon.
His team is one win away from a spot in the big dance.
A Giant hurdle awaits.
And Liberatore is feeling light on his feet.
"I feel like a kid again," he said.
