Mitch Wallis unsure if Western Bulldogs will re-sign Tom Liberatore

Mick Stirling

Mitch Wallis unsure if Western Bulldogs will re-sign Tom Liberatore image

Re-signed Western Bulldog Mitch Wallis has said he hopes his good friend and teammate Tom Liberatore will also get a new contract from the club, but he doesn’t sound too optimistic about the chance it will happen.

Wallis signed a new three-year deal on Wednesday after months of speculation on his future and being heavily linked with a move to Essendon.

Fellow father-son recruit and lifelong friend Liberatore is yet to be offered an extension at Whitten Oval, despite reports as early as March this year he was on the verge of putting pen to paper.

“I hope he stays but I’m pretty unsure on that front,” Wallis told SEN Breakfast on Thursday morning.

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“I hope the club and him can work something out because he is such a great player and he deserves a bit of good luck after all the unfortunate events that have happened over the last few years.” 

Liberatore’s 2018 ended almost before it started, picking up an ACL injury in round one and spending the season in rehab at Whitten Oval, but Wallis said he hadn’t been in touch with his good friend recently.

“It has been a tough year for ‘Libba’ with his injuries and as soon as that final siren goes, you can imagine Tom, he is as far away from Australia as possible.

“I haven’t had much dialogue with him since the season finished.

“We do have our best and fairest in a couple weeks, so I will be chatting with him.

“I hope he gets another opportunity, even Tom Liberatore at 80 per cent is an absolute superstar.”

There have been question marks over Liberatore’s future with the Bulldogs for a while amid rumours of questionable off-field behaviour.


Mick Stirling