WESTERN Bulldogs midfielder Tom Liberatore is set to add more outside polish to his brilliant inside game after a pre-season that has been lauded at Whitten Oval.
Liberatore led the AFL for clearances in 2013 and ranked No.2 for contested possessions, but it could be his outside game that receives a boost this season after a summer of running gains.
The 21-year-old said his pre-season load had been lifted significantly compared to last year. However, he wasn't feeling any pressure to step up and match the game's elite onballers.
"It's been made pretty clear that the coach expects nothing less but nothing more than the same level [as last season]," Liberatore said on Monday.
"It's more [about] consolidation and establishing another year of consistency.
"I've still got to be making improvements to my game and trying to be a stronger leader as well.
"I don't really want to force anything, I just keep it as natural as possible."
While Liberatore was understated about his own pre-season, Daniel Giansiracusa said the midfielder had become a player his teammates looked to at training for direction.
"He had a fantastic year last year, but he's come back in great nick and he's stepped up as a leader and really led the way," Giansiracusa said.
"I think he's probably going to take another step forward with his footy and hopefully a lot of guys can follow him and do the same."
Having laid the foundations for a strong contested game style under coach Brendan McCartney, Liberatore said the Bulldogs needed to be a stronger defensive team in 2014.
He said playing finals this year was something the players thought about, despite winning just 13 games across the last two seasons.
"We have stronger expectations of ourselves internally and that's a confidence thing," he said.
"If we want to improve we've got to believe in ourselves, so we definitely do internally.
"You're only as good as your 22nd player so [improvement] has got to be a whole team thing."
Liberatore, Giansiracusa, Will Minson and Jake Stringer launched the Bulldogs' annual 'West Community Blitz' in Footscray on Monday, handing out free tickets to the club's first home game, against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium in round two.
