The Western Bulldogs like what they are seeing from Tom Liberatore as club and player set out to prove last year was an aberration.

Liberatore was far from the only culprit as the Bulldogs' premiership defence went south and they dropped out of the top eight.

But his form dip clearly hurt their chances.

Midfielder Tom Liberatore at a recent Bulldogs intra-club match. Credit:Paul Jeffers

The Bulldogs dropped the midfielder for a month mid-season and notably, he finished outside the top 10 in their best-and-fairest count.