HE'S THE midfielder putting the "mighty" in front of the West again.

Centre-bounce statistics through the first two rounds – while admittedly a small sample size – highlight the impact Tom Liberatore is having in his return to the unbeaten Western Bulldogs' line-up. 

The 26-year-old son of 1990 Brownlow medallist Tony Liberatore required a second knee reconstruction last year, after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in round one. 

Liberatore had already missed the entire 2015 season because of an ACL injury in his left knee.

The Bulldogs' onball unit – loaded with stars such as Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae and Lachie Hunter – is a force to be reckoned with when 'Libba' is involved, winning 19 of the 24 centre clearances during his attendances this year.

Only Melbourne's dual All Australian ruckman Max Gawn matches Liberatore's plus-14 differential at centre bounces this season.

Tim English (plus-nine), Bontempelli and Josh Dunkley (plus-six) and Macrae (plus-five) are the next-best at the Kennel. 

Alternatively, Luke Beveridge's men have lost 14 of the 23 centre clearances when Liberatore isn't there.

The Dogs' midfield prowess has helped paper over some of the cracks at either end in the opening fortnight – and they have a case to belong in the competition's upper echelon in that area.

THE DOGS' MIDFIELD RANKINGS IN 2019

 STATISTIC

 DIFFERENTIAL

 AFL RANKING

 Disposals

 +65

 2nd

 Contested possessions

 +25

 1st

 Uncontested possessions

 +47.5

 3rd

 Clearances

 +11

 2nd

 Inside 50s

 +19

 1st

 Groundball gets

 +28

 1st

It must be noted that their first two opponents, Sydney and Hawthorn – minus Brownlow medallist Tom Mitchell – do not have elite onball brigades. 

However, dismissing what the Dogs are doing on that basis would be a mistake. 

They not only beat the Hawks in the middle, they beat them up. That dominance was particularly on show in the second and fourth quarters. 

DOGS v HAWKS IN ROUND TWO

 STATISTIC

 SECOND QUARTER

 FOURTH QUARTER

 Disposals

 121-88

 111-58

 Contested possessions

 47-33

 35-30

 Uncontested possessions

 75-50

 73-27

 Inside 50s

 23-4

 15-13

 Handball receives

 45-27

 45-14

Clearances

 11-4

 11-7


Macrae is one of the game's great ball magnets, racking up at least 30 disposals on a League-most 18 occasions since the start of last season.

No other player has done it more than 15 times in that period, including All Australians Tom Mitchell and Matt Crouch.

Then there's Bontempelli, the Dogs' 193cm bundle of athleticism, skill and flair – and resident superstar at just 23 years of age. 

Hunter, the reigning club champion, is another threat for 30 possessions any given week, while Mitch Wallis, Dunkley and Toby McLean can seamlessly interchange between the midfield and up forward. 

They will fancy their chances of doing a number on the Suns this week, but the round four match-up with Collingwood's equally deep midfield promises to be captivating. 

Record-obliterating Pies

Collingwood hauled in 99 of its 174 marks in the first half of last Thursday night's demolition of Richmond. 

No side has ever taken more grabs in the opening two quarters of a game. 

NINE THINGS WE LEARNED Time to find your mojo, Tigers

The Magpies also consigned the Tigers to their worst disposal differential in a match, winning an extraordinary 164 more possessions – 21 more than the yellow and black's previous worst.

Richmond's 302 disposals were the club's lowest since it had 296 in a round nine loss to West Coast last year.

Centre-square Roo-gulars

North Melbourne bolstered its midfield in the off-season, but two mainstays continue to receive the lion's share of opportunities.

No midfielder across the competition has attended as many centre bounces as Kangaroos pair Shaun Higgins (54) and Ben Cunnington (53) so far this season. 

Coming in behind them are Carlton's Patrick Cripps (51) and Tigers skipper Trent Cotchin (47).

North ruckman Todd Goldstein is No.1 among all players with 57 centre-bounce attendances. 

Goldstein, Higgins and Cunnington each account for more than 80 per cent of the Roos' attendances, but Cripps comes out on top in this category with 92.7 per cent of the Blues'.

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