A suspected ACL injury to premiership midfielder Tom Liberatore has topped off a nightmare first game of the AFL season for the Western Bulldogs.
Beaten preliminary finalists Greater Western Sydney pummelled the 2016 premiers in Canberra on Sunday, winning their clash by a whopping 82 points.
The Giants kicked the first four goals of the game and were never challenged in the 20.13 (133) to 7.9 (51) result, as stars Jeremy Cameron (six goals) and Toby Greene (four) ran riot up forward.
While the Bulldogs were completely smashed at UNSW Oval in front of 10,454 fans, their worries extend to Liberatore who is staring at a second knee reconstruction 117 games into his career.
The club confirmed the 25-year-old had suffered a suspected ACL injury to his right knee and would undergo further tests in the next 24 hours.
The Dogs seemed to lift when Liberatore went off in the first quarter after a lacklustre start, kicking the next three goals to only be five points behind at quarter-time.
But it was all the classy Giants from there as they booted 16 goals to four after the first change.
They were led sensationally by key on-ballers Stephen Coniglio (32 possessions and two goals), Josh Kelly (29 and two) and Dylan Shiel, while Tim Taranto also played an integral role.
GWS’ new-look half-back line performed well, with former No.1 draft pick Lachie Whitfield slotting in seamlessly after Nathan Wilson’s move to Fremantle and the injury to Zac Williams.
On a dark day for the Bulldogs, Jack Macrae, Luke Dahlhaus and Lachie Hunter found plenty of the ball and young ruckman Tim English showed some serious promise in his fourth game.