Tom Liberatore and the Western Bulldogs remain apart on the length of a new deal.
While a fresh contract for club captain and Brownlow medal favourite Marcus Bontempelli hogs the headlines, the Liberatore negotiations have hit an early hurdle.
Liberatore is in white-hot form for the 8-1 Bulldogs as the AFL’s No.1 ranked player for centre clearances and total clearances after Round 9. He also sits No.2 in the competition for contested possessions.
But at this stage the Bulldogs are only prepared to offer a one-year contract extension.
Liberatore, who turned 29 on Sunday, was made to wait until the end of 2018 to be offered a one-year deal after a second knee reconstruction saw him miss all but one quarter of that season.
But the inside midfielder made a bright start to 2019 and signed a two-year contract extension half-way through that season. It’s that deal which is due to expire at the end of the 2021 campaign.
It must be said it is only early in negotiations between Liberatore and the club. The Bulldogs want him to stay and Liberatore wants to stay, but there is water to go under the bridge.
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Liberatore’s clearance work and vision in stoppage situations has been one of the key pillars of the Bulldogs scintillating start to the season.
It has been his grunt at the coalface that has unlocked a lot of class being shown by a deep on-ball unit.
Bontempelli is set to turn his back on free agency and re-commit to the Dogs with a lucrative new deal expected to be announced soon.
