From prison to the classroom, this Bulldogs champion is determined to give back

Western Bulldogs veteran Tom Liberatore and (inset) Liberatore spending time with young people in the western suburbs during homework club. Pictures: AFL Photos, Western Bulldogs FC

SOME students are aware of who he is, others don't have a clue. But they all know Tom Liberatore will be there every Monday afternoon to lead the homework club at Caroline Chisholm Catholic College in Braybrook.

For two hours each week, no one cares how many clearances he had on the weekend or if the Western Bulldogs won. They have no idea a significant milestone is imminent. They just want help. That's why they are there. And that's why Liberatore is back in the classroom.

It is also why Liberatore spent so much time inside Port Phillip Prison last year. The 33-year-old mentored inmates aged between 18 and 25 across three different six-session programs, listening, caring and sharing.

Liberatore has been on this trajectory for years. He started an arts degree at Melbourne University after graduating high school with an ATAR score in the mid-90s. Then he studied creative writing at RMIT. But when he missed all of 2018 after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament for a second time, he helped homeless buskers develop a platform to promote their music. Social work became not just his future, but his present.

The Western Bulldogs' Community Foundation operates out of Mission Whitten Oval and runs a range of initiatives, just like The Huddle at North Melbourne Football Club. The homework club is run through a grant from the Department of Education as part of the Victorian African Community Action Plan, which aims to provide a safe space to learn and feel connected to help improve academic performance and attendance.

Tom Liberatore spending time with young people in the western suburbs during homework club. Picture: Western Bulldogs FC

Ahead of his 250th game against North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night, AFL.com.au spent a recent Monday afternoon at homework club with Liberatore and 25 students.

Growing up as the son of an icon, 1990 Brownlow medallist Tony Liberatore, Tom believes he had a blessed childhood. He received a private school education at St Kevin's College. He was nurtured in development programs with the Calder Cannons. He had everything he needed, which is why he is here, in his own time, trying to make a difference to those who don't have those advantages.

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"I do it to try and help kids have a better day or help them in some way. I feel like I came from quite a privileged upbringing – where I grew up, the school I went to – it is my duty to give back. That's why I do it," Liberatore said.

"It is an African-aimed program. We are at the girl's campus, so it is mainly girls than boys; they don't know much about footy, but there are a few boys that come in and know footy. It is mainly about helping kids that don't necessarily have the help at home that they get here. That's the main point. They might have parental figures working or be focused on other siblings if they come from large families."

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PORT Phillip Prison in Truganina will be Victoria's largest maximum-security prison until it closes later this year. Unlike Caroline Chisholm Catholic College, inmates not only knew who Liberatore was, they also knew how he went on the weekend and weren't afraid to let him know.

Liberatore is the epitome of not judging a book by its cover, which is part of the reason he made a profound impact inside the jail in 2024. He ran a wellbeing program two hours at a time, focusing on mental health, goal setting, future employment, nutrition and fitness.

"It was a bit different to homework club," Liberatore said. "Two-hour programs with classroom work and education around diet, mental health, wellbeing; stuff that they wouldn't get exposed to in jail. Some blokes don't get involved, some do. But you see as soon as some engage, others get involved too. It makes a difference."

Riley Garcia joined him at Port Phillip. Some at the Western Bulldogs call the 24-year-old 'Libba's protégé'. Along with Buku Khamis, the West Australian has invested in the Community Foundation. He is studying social work, following in the footsteps of the veteran.

"We look the same, too, short with a moustache and Mediterranean," Liberatore points out.

For everything Liberatore has achieved in the red, white and blue, his community work might prove to be his legacy. He has never pressured others to follow his lead, they just always have. At the start of every year, he gets up in front of the group and tells the players what can be gained from thinking about others away from the club.

Under player development manager Brent Prismall, every player has a focus away from football, but some players leave a greater mark than others. When Liberatore first arrived at the kennel, Matthew Boyd set the standard with his study at La Trobe University. Jack Macrae and Fletcher Roberts followed in his footsteps after carpooling with the three-time All-Australian.

Tom Liberatore spending time with young people in the western suburbs during homework club. Picture: Western Bulldogs FC

Now Liberatore is passing the baton, not just to Garcia and Khamis, but also to rising star Joel Freijah and former first-round pick Jedd Busslinger, who are now both working in the community with young people dealing with disabilities.

Liberatore part owns two pubs in the western suburbs – Mona Castle in Seddon and the Ascot Vale Hotel – with former teammates Caleb Daniel, Lin Jong, Jack Redpath, Lukas Webb and other mates, but they are an investment. Life after footy will involve social work.

"It is definitely something I've grown to get as much out of as footy," he said. "I don't know what capacity I'll start in, whether it's more youth diversion or youth detention. I'd rather do youth diversion and help beforehand, but then again, when I was doing the prison stuff there is a real need for someone, there was case management, pre and post release."

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WHEN Marcus Bontempelli suffered a complex calf injury in the AAMI Community Series at the end of February, the Western Bulldogs needed someone to accept that responsibility in the absence of the six-time best and fairest winner.

Luke Beveridge turned to Liberatore to lead the Bulldogs, at a time when the coach's future was part of the daily discourse. That would have seemed inconceivable in the years after the premiership when Liberatore drifted with his commitment and struggled with his body.

Tom Liberatore leads the team off the field after the round one match between Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium, on March 15, 2025. Picture: Getty Images/AFL Photos

Across 2017 and 2018, Liberatore drove a beaten-up Australia Post van with faded red paint around the western suburbs. You had to look up close to see the logo, but it was there. The Mercedes Sprinter had one seat in it and a surfboard in the back. He traded it in for a light blue Toyota Camry he called ‘Bluey' before the birth of his son Oscar just before the pandemic and has upgraded.

Since then, Liberatore has roared back to form at a time when most players cross the boundary from the summer to winter of their careers, traditionally transitioning into a backseat role.

Instead, Liberatore has been summoned to the stage on Charles Sutton Medal night every year. First in 2020 when he finished third in the best and fairest to win the Gary Dempsey Medal. He won it again the following year, before finishing second in 2022 and 2023 to take home the Doug Hawkins Medal. Last year he finished sixth, despite missing six games, but won the John Schultz community award.

Liberatore was voted into the leadership group in 2015 but was out the following year, not returning for nine seasons until the players voted him in as vice-captain in 2024 at the age of 31. Suddenly in March, it was on the unflappable star covered in tattoos to lead the way for the five games it took Bontempelli to recover.

Tom Liberatore and Marcus Bontempelli after the R16 match between Western Bulldogs and Sydney at the SCG on June 27, 2025. Picture: Getty Images/AFL Photos

"I really enjoyed the captaincy," he said. "To be honest, I was pretty grateful for the experience. It made me reflect at the time. I really didn't expect to be doing that a few years ago.

"I was shitting myself the night before the first game against the Kangas. I kept it [the pre-game speech] laser focused. It was challenging, but such a good learning opportunity. We didn't win a couple of those games, and you carry that, so you empathise with how Marcus feels with carrying that burden. It was great learning."

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LIBERATORE made his debut in the opening round of 2011, months after being selected as a father-son pick at No.40 in the 2010 AFL Draft. He won the Charles Sutton Medal in 2014, a year after finishing second, and barely missed a game in his first four years, racing to 77 games. Then a knee reconstruction wiped out all of 2015.

Life changed after ending a 62-year premiership drought. The three years after the flag were full of challenges. Like many at the club, navigating around the booby traps that emerge after success were tough. He then played less than a quarter of round one in 2018, then struggled to return to his best in 2019. At the end of that year, he had more knee surgery. Surgeons told him he would be lucky to get four more years out his knee. Yet, he not only got to 200 games, he becomes the 15th Bulldog to reach 250 at the club.

"Not getting injured and playing multiple years in a row helps. Also growing up, none of my mates go out much anymore, which certainly helps. You get older and do different things off-field, play more golf, wine bars," he explained when asked what changed.

"I do more of this work, and this might sound silly, but you are preparing for life after footy, so you don't worry as much about footy. The little fella is playing Auskick now, so life is just busy and footy isn't the be all and end all; not to say you don't care, but when you go to training you hone in more, train harder, play harder, but then when you finish you switch off."

Liberatore will play on for a 16th season in 2026. He hasn't put pen to paper on an extension just yet, but the Bulldogs have indicated he has a deal for next year. It will be the third one-year extension he signs in a row, but will it be the last?

"Dad signed four or five at the backend, so I'll try and catch him," he said.

Tom Liberatore and his dad Tony Liberatore pose for a photo at Mission Whitten Oval on August 1, 2022. Picture: Getty Images/AFL Photos

Tom and Tony Liberatore will become just the second father-son pairing in VFL/AFL history to both play 250 games for the same club, joining Essendon greats Ken and Dustin Fletcher. Tony finished on 283 appearances in the age just before the edges of elite sport were buffeted to a high sheen. Tom was always destined to join him as a club great, and while he doesn't have a Brownlow, he does have a premiership medallion at home.

And he might have a second by the end of September – or the end of his career – although it's never been about individual accolades or external recognition for a famous son of the west, who is the heartbeat of the Western Bulldogs. Not that many at homework club are aware.

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