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MITCHELL Wallis and Tom Liberatore have spent their lives dreaming about today.
That when the Western Bulldogs submit their father-son nominations, their names will be on them.
On Tuesday, it will be confirmed that the two sons of Bulldogs greats, Steve Wallis and Tony Liberatore, will next season join forces in the Dogs' midfield.
For two teenagers, their football partnership is as close as they come. They have played footy together almost every winter weekend for the past 10 years, resulting in a deep understanding, already, of how each other plays.
"Sometimes I don't even have to call for it and Libba has already handballed to me," Wallis said from the AFL draft camp in Canberra.
"It's a sixth sense that we sort of have. I remember playing footy with him in the hallway at home, when we were eight years old. I can't imagine how many times he's handed the ball to me."
For draft picks 22 and 41, the Dogs will net two gun midfielders. Two players who otherwise would have certainly been selected in the first round.
Wallis, captain of the Vic Metro under-18 team and Morrish medallist, averaged 29 possessions for Calder Cannons this year and his co-pilot, Liberatore, 24 touches.
"Forget the Gold Coast. That's the steal of the draft," one recruiter said yesterday.
For the past 18 months, the best mates have enjoyed regular time at Whitten Oval, preparing their bodies and minds for the AFL. But their hearts already bleed red, white and blue.
"All our lives we've barracked for the Bulldogs and watched our fathers play," Wallis said.
"I'd stay at his house on a Friday night and he would stay at mine on a Saturday night and we would take stats while watching the game.
"If I end up there, I will push for success, because I love the club that much and I can't wait to see it go through a period where we are successful.
I have had that passion inside me for so long."
Liberatore, like his dad, is an inside player and clearance king.
"Every time you go to a centre bounce you are confident he can win it," Wallis said of his mate.
"You can premeditate a lot of your moves because you can back him in so heavily to win the ball."
Liberatore, a neat left-footer, has watched the Dogs' past three losing preliminary finals, feeling more shattered with each one.
"The last one I was sitting there in my room watching it and it was devastating," Liberatore said.
They both want to have an impact on the senior side next season. "That's an ambition, to play senior footy next year," Wallis said. "But a lot of things have to fall into place."
That when the Western Bulldogs submit their father-son nominations, their names will be on them.
On Tuesday, it will be confirmed that the two sons of Bulldogs greats, Steve Wallis and Tony Liberatore, will next season join forces in the Dogs' midfield.
For two teenagers, their football partnership is as close as they come. They have played footy together almost every winter weekend for the past 10 years, resulting in a deep understanding, already, of how each other plays.
"Sometimes I don't even have to call for it and Libba has already handballed to me," Wallis said from the AFL draft camp in Canberra.
"It's a sixth sense that we sort of have. I remember playing footy with him in the hallway at home, when we were eight years old. I can't imagine how many times he's handed the ball to me."
For draft picks 22 and 41, the Dogs will net two gun midfielders. Two players who otherwise would have certainly been selected in the first round.
Wallis, captain of the Vic Metro under-18 team and Morrish medallist, averaged 29 possessions for Calder Cannons this year and his co-pilot, Liberatore, 24 touches.
"Forget the Gold Coast. That's the steal of the draft," one recruiter said yesterday.
For the past 18 months, the best mates have enjoyed regular time at Whitten Oval, preparing their bodies and minds for the AFL. But their hearts already bleed red, white and blue.
"All our lives we've barracked for the Bulldogs and watched our fathers play," Wallis said.
"I'd stay at his house on a Friday night and he would stay at mine on a Saturday night and we would take stats while watching the game.
"If I end up there, I will push for success, because I love the club that much and I can't wait to see it go through a period where we are successful.
I have had that passion inside me for so long."
Liberatore, like his dad, is an inside player and clearance king.
"Every time you go to a centre bounce you are confident he can win it," Wallis said of his mate.
"You can premeditate a lot of your moves because you can back him in so heavily to win the ball."
Liberatore, a neat left-footer, has watched the Dogs' past three losing preliminary finals, feeling more shattered with each one.
"The last one I was sitting there in my room watching it and it was devastating," Liberatore said.
They both want to have an impact on the senior side next season. "That's an ambition, to play senior footy next year," Wallis said. "But a lot of things have to fall into place."
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