Tom Liberatore being trained to curb relentless attack ahead of playing return after series of concussions

Western Bulldogs gun Ed Richards will be given another week off to recover from his concussion despite coming out of the mandatory 12-day layoff, with coach Luke Beveridge declaring he wants Tom Liberatore to “do things differently” in his return to play on Friday night.

Beveridge said Richards, who was concussed in the round 10 loss to Sydney, “didn’t perform as well” in some post-concussion tests as the club would have liked to bring him back straight away.

But he said Liberatore, who has had two concussions this season and collapsed on the field against Essendon in round 6, seemed to “bounce back more quickly” than others but would adjust his full-on physicality against the Brisbane Lions.

Liberatore hasn’t played since round 9 after cutting his head open and being concussed against Hawthorn, but Beveridge said the midfield bull, who underwent external medical testing, including brain scans, was showing no signs of any lingering issues.

“He seems to be an example of a player who is affected by head knocks in a different way,” the coach said on Wednesday.

“Whether he’s just got a harder head or in all the processing of trying to mitigate having any long-term effects, he seems to bounce back pretty quickly.

“But he’s missed a bit of footy though, we have been ultraconservative with him. But as far as head scans and all that, he appears fine.

“You’re always a little bit nervous about how a player is going to reintroduce himself. He’ll play close to his usual game time, but we’ll probably be a little bit conservative.”

That conservatism has extended to chats with Liberatore about trying to curb his attack on the football to preserve the soon to be 32-year-old’s longer-term future.

But Beveridge conceded the heat-of-the battle instincts could impact Liberatore’s ability to do that.

“We’ve done a bit of that with him. You see the commitment and the headfirst stuff we want him to do a little differently,” he said.

“Instincts kick in, he may not be able to. The players are looking after each other a little bit more, but we’ve done a little bit of work and that will continue on.

“He understands we are trying to help him when he’s in those situations. With his, it’s the closer range, in stoppage or spread from stoppage, not big aerial collisions which can be quite drastic and almost catastrophic.

“But as far as the long-term aspect, and my conversations with him, I’ll leave that to the medical staff.”

Beveridge said he’d also have to make a decision on Laithan Vandermeer ahead of Friday’s clash as he battles a hamstring issue.