Both sides centre their game around winning the contested ball and applying defensive pressure and the father-son recruit said the Bulldogs would need to work cohesively to produce a strong result.
“It’ll be a huge challenge to play against a team like Freo who… play a pretty similar game as us,” Liberatore told RSN Radio today.
“I think we just need to have a really good week on the track and try to pull together as a group and hopefully give it a big show and try to get the four points.”
Leading the competition in tackles and ranking eighth in clearances, Liberatore hasn’t the slightest hesitation in putting his body on the line to win the footy or apply defensive pressure.
From a statistical standpoint the 22-year-old’s output has him placed in the top 20 players in the competition according to the official AFL Player Ratings – the youngest player to crack the top 20 since player ratings were first recorded in 2012.
Liberatore said he prides himself on his defensive style of game and is happy to do whatever is required to help the team function.
“I’m just trying to do my job for the team pretty much every week and do my role for what is needed each week,” he said.
“[Tackling] has been one of my strengths I think throughout the start of my career… pressure is a big thing as a midfield group and we put a big emphasis on pressure around the footy and making it hard for the opposition.”
Drafted to the Bulldogs through the father-son rule, Liberatore said his father Tony still has a vested interest in the Club and he makes a conscious effort to get to as many games as possible.
“I talk to him occasionally about footy – it’s usually more about the collective and the Club and how we are going from that point of view,” he said.
“Obviously he still cares a great deal about where we are going because of the duration that he played here, so it is usually more about the footy club and where we are headed.”
