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Bulldogs fear the worst for Liberatore’s knee

A potentially serious knee injury to star Tom Liberatore has soured a 22-point NAB Challenge win by the Western Bulldogs over Richmond.

The young midfielder faces the bleak prospect of missing the entire AFL season after injuring his left knee.

Liberatore limped from Whitten Oval on Saturday after his left leg buckled under the weight of Richmond’s Tyrone Vickery in a tackle during the first quarter.

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The 22-year-old took no further part in the game and coach Luke Beveridge later confirmed that club medical staff feared he had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament.

“He’ll need a scan tomorrow but it doesn’t look good at the moment,” Beveridge said.

If, as expected, the worst case plays out, then Liberatore faces 10 to 12 months on the sidelines after surgery.

“If it is an ACL it’s horrific, but he’s tough, he’s resilient and there’s no doubt he’ll come back from it,” Beveridge said.

“He’s such an important person and player around the club and he’s one of our new leaders, so it’s disappointing for him and everyone around because he’s crucial to the fabric of our footy club.

“He’ll play a role no matter what so we won’t jump to the final conclusion, but we’ll need to move on if it is.”

Bulldogs supporters turned out in force to welcome back AFL football to Whitten Oval on Saturday, and their side won 0.12.17 (89) to 1.9.4 (67).

Damien Hardwick won’t be too disappointed, however, because he fielded a team missing almost a dozen first-choice players, while Stewart Crameri was arguably the only notable absentee from the Bulldogs’ best 22.

Kicking with the aid of the wind in the first term, the Tigers edged to a nine-point lead at quarter-time only to see the Dogs kick five goals to one in the second to go 18 points up at the main break.

Sam Lloyd kicked the only super goal of the day with the wind at his back in the third term to help Richmond to a two-point lead at three-quarter time.

In a scrappy final quarter, Richmond kicked two goals into the wind before Marcus Bontempelli gave his side the lead for good following on from a great goal by Jake Stringer from the boundary line.

In a day of firsts for the Dogs, new coach Luke Beveridge oversaw his first win and heralded recruit Tom Boyd kicked his maiden goal for the club that lured him from the GWS Giants with a lucrative seven-year deal.

Elsewhere, Brisbane‘s forward line largely fired blanks in their AFL pre-season win over St Kilda in Queensland.

On the plus side, ex-Collingwood premiership winner Dayne Beams made an impressive debut in a near full-strength Lions outfit, with 25 touches in their 0.7.16 (58) to 0.8.7 (55) NAB Challenge opener at Burpengary on Saturday.

And Lions coach Justin Leppitsch would have also been beaming over the stunning return of Daniel Rich (19 disposals) from a knee injury in Brisbane’s much-envied midfield.

But the Brisbane mentor still has a major headache to ease before their official AFL opener against Collingwood on April 4, judging by his forward line’s efforts.

Life without champion Jonathan Brown was never going to be easy for Brisbane.

However, it may be a little rockier than expected after Brent Staker (four touches, two behinds), Michael Close (five touches, one goal) and Daniel McStay (six touches, 1.1 in front) failed to impress up front for an erratic Brisbane.

It was more of the same for the Saints, who are without grieving captain Nick Riewoldt.

No.1 draft pick Paddy McCartin showed flashes of brilliance up front in his first official game for his new club.

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