Tom Liberatore celebrated his 50th AFL game with a typically determined effort. The Bulldogs midfielder found 29 disposals and gave his side the impetus at stoppages, but was also doing the grunt work. He laid six tackles in the first quarter, and with nine by half-time was on track to give Jude Bolton's record of 19 tackles in a game a nudge. Liberatore finished with 12 tackles, a game-high. After being suspended by his club at the end of last season, Liberatore's turnaround has been strong. He has played every game, and averaged 25 possessions an outing. The 21-year-old was just one of a number of young Dogs who led the way in the win.
2. Grant's confidence boost
It was only his third game of the season, but Western Bulldog Jarrad Grant showed some encouraging signs in his side's forward line. Grant will probably never rack up big amounts of the ball, but when he does have it he can make things happen. In the first half against the Eagles, Grant had a direct hand in setting up four of his side's goals, through decent marks, sharp handballs and some penetrating kicks. The 24-year-old finished with three goals and six marks, and probably some confidence he can be a strong contributor at the level.
3. Jones' jab
Western Bulldogs forward Liam Jones is likely to face scrutiny from the Match Review Panel on Monday when it assesses the weekend's contentious incidents. Jones turned a minor scuffle into a possible suspension in the first term when he was grappling with Eagle Eric MacKenzie. At the end of the tussle, Jones landed a compact right jab on MacKenzie's chin. Mackenzie played on without any issues but the strike will get looked at.
4. Gaff gets his run back
It has been a challenging year for Andrew Gaff. Teams have put more time into stopping him and at times he's struggled to deal with the extra attention. And he showed on Sunday why teams had tried so hard to lock him down. Gaff's run, carry and precision foot skills are crucial to how the Eagles set up, and how they create scoring opportunities. Gaff had 31 disposals against the Bulldogs, which was a season-high figure.
5. Undermanned Eagles
It was a different looking West Coast outfit against the Western Bulldogs. With captain Darren Glass (soreness), Mark LeCras (foot), Nic Naitanui (groin) and Luke Shuey (hamstring) missing, the Eagles were without four of their stars. Veteran Adam Selwood was also dropped for the clash. But this was an opportunity for others to step up. So, of the lot who were out there, who did? Mark Hutchings was busy with 26 disposals, Scott Lycett showed his mobility, and Sharrod Wellingham chipped in with two goals and 21 touches. But the Eagles were undermanned, particularly when Chris Masten went down with a second-quarter ankle injury, and it was easy to tell.
Callum Twomey is a reporter for the AFL website. Follow him on Twitter at @AFL_CalTwomey.
