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Despite being a few years older than most available draftees, Anthony was picked up by North Melbourne with its third selection (43) in the 2008 AFL National Draft.

After a blistering pre-season in which he dominated most games, the former East Fremantle (WAFL) midfielder was named to debut in round one against Melbourne. However, his dream to play at the elite level was put on hold at the last minute with a stress fracture in his foot flaring up and putting him out of action for several weeks.

Anthony eventually made his much anticipated return in the VFL with North Ballarat and demanded selection into the North Melbourne line-up.

The door was opened in round 13 and the solidly built ball magnet didn’t disappoint, racking up an impressive 28 possessions on debut. The football world stood up and took notice as Anthony went on to prove he was well worth the punt at the draft table.

The number 44 played out the reminder of the season and averaged 25 touches a game. A true revelation, Anthony has been one of the club’s feel good stories in 2009.

Darren Crocker 2009 review:
When Liam came into the system, it was about learning what was required from an AFL conditioning perspective. To his credit, he worked extremely hard and because he was coming from a fair way back. When he went back to Perth over Christmas he probably over-trained. He continued to train hard when he returned to Melbourne and came down with a stress fracture in his foot. He would have played a lot earlier but he was a revelation when he came in. Liam knows he's got a few areas of his game he needs to work on but he's come in with a really strong belief.

Draft history: 2008 NAB AFL Draft 3rd round selection (North Melbourne) No.43 overall
First game for North Melbourne: Round 13, 2009 v Western Bulldogs

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