Tom Liberatore was just 10 when his dad, Brownlow Medallist Tony, played his final game for the Western Bulldogs. So it's no wonder the talented midfielder wants nothing more than to don the red, white and blue. "Getting drafted to the Western Bulldogs would be unreal. Having come through the system watching the Bulldogs, to have the chance to be there would be fantastic. Whitten Oval is just around the corner and I live in Essendon, so it's not far."
Tom isn't the only one who shares that dream, with his best mate Mitch Wallis, whose dad Stephen played 261 for the Bulldogs, also hopeful of being drafted at the end of 2010 under the father-son rule. "We’ve been together since the start of school, so prep. We went to the same primary school, and now the same secondary school (St Kevin's College) and we've played pretty much every game of footy together. We've been mates for around 13 years now and it's been really good having him by my side. It would be really weird the two of us being together at the Bulldogs."
Often inseparable, Tom and Mitch have been spending some of their precious school holidays over the past 12 months down at Whitten Oval as part of a development program. "We don't train at all but we just observe training and observe some meetings and we get a bit of advice on our diet and things like that. It's really interesting and gives you a good insight on what they do and what they undertake in a basic week."
While Tom would love nothing more than to follow in his dad's footsteps, he's ready to make his own mark. "My old man is probably the one who puts the least pressure on me. He just says, 'Go about your footy and do what you want to do'. He sits back and gives me advice when I ask for it but other than that I don't feel much pressure at all. This is what I want to do. I just want to get the best out of myself."
Tough like his dad, but a fair bit taller, Tom has caught the eye of recruiters while playing with the Calder Cannons. However, he is well aware football is not always a secure career choice. "From the start I've always said there's no real guarantees [with footy] and mum's a teacher and is pretty strong on school. I've pretty much placed school before footy because school is what's going to hold you in good stead for the rest of your life rather than footy."
While he's trying to get his head around finishing off his year 12 VCE, this history buff is already planning to pursue further studies next year even if he does get drafted. "I did Australian history last year in year 11. I loved it, it was really good, and this year I'm doing revolutions. I want to try and go into arts at Melbourne University which has an ENTER of around 89. From there I want to try and probably go into the writing field - not quite journalism, but I do enjoy writing so I want to try and combine that with history."
A pretty handy junior cricketer, Tom tried his hand at several different sports, including lawn bowls, before settling on AFL. "I loved my cricket and basketball. I played cricket pretty seriously, playing for school up until year 12, and then I played a high level at St Bernard's for a bit. I played club basketball for a bit of fun and I even tried a bit of lawn bowls. It's compulsory to do a summer sport at school and then I decided to jump into lawn bowls for a bit of a joke. It was good fun actually. We just sat around bowling away and having a bit of a laugh."
