Contract ... Tom Liberatore will be a Bulldogs for at least the next three years. Source: Michael Dodge / Getty Images
WESTERN Bulldogs have re-signed midfielder Tom Liberatore, helping cap the most encouraging month of Brendan McCartney's two-year coaching tenure.
Twelve months after he was banned for possessing an illicit drug, Liberatore completed his renaissance by signing a new three-year deal.
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In his third season, Liberatore, 21, leads the league for clearances with an average of eight per game, the most since Carlton's Brett Ratten in 1999, according to Fox Footy Analyst.
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The father-son recruit also ranks in the top 10 for long kicking efficiency, adding a new edge to a Dogs midfield questioned for being too slow earlier this season.
In the past four games, including fighting losses to Hawthorn, Sydney and Essendon and a win over West Coast, the Dogs are ranked second for disposal efficiency, first for disposals and fifth for inside 50s.
The midfield improvement will bolster the club's trade plans to secure an established key forward, led by Essendon targets Stewart Crameri and Scott Gumbleton, at season's end.
List manager Jason McCartney paid tribute to Liberatore for raising his game. "He's been exceptional," McCartney said.
"It shows any of our young players that with an extra pre-season, with a quality coaching program in place, they can come on pretty quickly.
"We were confident we had a quality player on our hands, but it would it be fair to say, 'Did we think he would be in that upper echelon with some of those KPIs (key performance indicators) against the AFL benchmarks this year?' Probably not, but he's been able to do it."
McCartney said the Dogs had been able to achieve greater balance in their midfield this year but was adamant contested ball was still a key focus, in line with Sydney.
"The Swans are a good example," he said. "Predominantly, they've been tough insiders who have learnt, I suppose, to be a bit smarter in their method and how they work on the outside.
"What we've seen in the last month, our uncontested (ball) numbers have been quite comparable, even up on the opposition.
"People then realise OK, five or six weeks ago it was pretty much doom and gloom about the Bulldogs.
"But now people can see where we are going and how we are going about it."
The Dogs want to secure a key forward in the trade period but McCartney said the club would be happy to look to the draft if it could not lock in one of its preferred trade options.
Jake Stringer, 19, is the club's leading target inside forward 50m, with 23 per cent of the entries directed at the 10-gamer. Liam Jones is second with 18 per cent.
"If there's not the right type (of forward) available we are more than comfortable to hit the draft again," McCartney said. "We are about getting the right type. It (good form) helps when we are looking at other players, but we need to keep up the good work of the past month."
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