Tony Liberatore
Birth date11 February 1966 (age 60)
OriginalteamBrunswick City (EDFL)/
North Melbourne under-19s
Height163 cm
Weight78 kg
Statsend2002
Years 11986–2002
Club 1Footscray/Western Bulldogs
Games goals 1283 (95)
Sooteam 1Victoria
Soogames goals 1? (?)
Careerhighlights

Tony Liberatore (born 11 February 1966) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented the in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Liberatore is the only player to have won league best-and-fairest medals in all three grades of VFL/AFL football (under 19s, reserves and seniors). Liberatore is one of the shortest players to have played in the VFL/AFL competition and the shortest player to have won a Brownlow Medal.

Playing as a rover, Liberatore was a long-time holder of the VFL/AFL record for most career tackles.[1]

Early life

Liberatore was born in Australia to Italian parents.[2]

Playing career

Footscray/Western Bulldogs

Liberatore played junior football for Brunswick City. He was recruited by , where he played both under-19s and reserve grade football. After winning the Morrish Medal in 1984, he called , and in the hope of playing senior football. Mick Malthouse, who was Footscray senior coach at the time, invited Liberatore to train but made no guarantees that he would get a game.[3] At his first training session with the club, Liberatore was teased by full-forward Simon Beasley, who said that due to his lack of height he would have been better off training to be a jockey at the nearby Flemington Racecourse.[3] Although Liberatore made his senior level debut in 1986, he mainly played in the reserves that season, winning the VFL reserves' Gardiner Medal in both 1986 and 1988.[4] He was a member of the team that won the 1988 VFL reserves premiership.

Standing at 163 cm, Liberatore played only 18 senior games until the 1990 season, when he played 19 games and won the Brownlow Medal for the best and fairest senior AFL player.[5] Despite missing the final 3 games of the season, his tally of 18 votes narrowly beat Graham Wright (Collingwood) with 17 votes and Stephen Silvagni (Carlton) on 16 votes.

Liberatore played a total of 283 senior games for Footscray/Western Bulldogs in a career that included 13 finals, life membership of the club, and selection on the interchange bench in the club's Team of the Century.[6]

Liberatore was noted for his ability to read the play and his prolific tackling. Throughout his senior career, he made 1,225 tackles in his career; an average of 4.39 per game. In 1992 he became the first VFL/AFL player to exceed 100 tackles in a season,[citation needed] and then exceeded 100 tackles each season until 1996.[7][8][9][10] His season tally of 142 tackles in 1994 stood as the VFL/AFL record until 2006, when James McDonald bettered it by one.[11]

Liberatore garnered an unwanted reputation following the 1999 Season Round 10 game against Brisbane at the Gabba. Whilst he denied eye gouging, his hand contact with the face of Craig McRae was deemed excessive, and he was suspended for 3 weeks. It was the first time he had been suspended for the act after previous incidents with Steven Lawrence (Brisbane) and Craig Kelly (Sydney).

Liberatore was responsible for an ugly off-the-ball incident against Matthew Knights in Round 2 of the 2001 season, which resulted in a suspension for five matches. The nature of the incident led many football pundits such as Robert Walls to call for his retirement.

Playing statistics

[12]

|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1986 |style="text-align:center;"| | 60 || 4 || 1 || 1 || 19 || 22 || 41 || 5 || || 0.3 || 0.3 || 4.8 || 5.5 || 10.3 || 1.3 || |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1987 |style="text-align:center;"| | 39 || 12 || 7 || 11 || 102 || 70 || 172 || 10 || 23 || 0.6 || 0.9 || 8.5 || 5.8 || 14.3 || 0.8 || 1.9 |- style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1988 |style="text-align:center;"| | 39 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 4 || 6 || 10 || 1 || 1 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 4.0 || 6.0 || 10.0 || 1.0 || 1.0 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1989 |style="text-align:center;"| | 39 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 12 || 2 || 14 || 1 || 3 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 12.0 || 2.0 || 14.0 || 1.0 || 3.0 |- style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1990 |style="text-align:center;"| | 39 || 19 || 13 || 8 || 249 || 245 || 494 || 33 || 82 || 0.7 || 0.4 || 13.1 || 12.9 || 26.0 || 1.7 || 4.3 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1991 |style="text-align:center;"| | 39 || 22 || 13 || 9 || 301 || 296 || 597 || 29 || 62 || 0.6 || 0.4 || 13.7 || 13.5 || 27.1 || 1.3 || 2.8 |- style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1992 |style="text-align:center;"| | 39 || 25 || 14 || 4 || 326 || 286 || 612 || 47 || 136 || 0.6 || 0.2 || 13.0 || 11.4 || 24.5 || 1.9 || 5.4 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1993 |style="text-align:center;"| | 39 || 20 || 12 || 8 || 250 || 238 || 488 || 27 || 115 || 0.6 || 0.4 || 12.5 || 11.9 || 24.4 || 1.4 || 5.8 |-style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1994 |style="text-align:center;"| | 39 || 24 || 6 || 9 || 280 || 211 || 491 || 26 || 142 || 0.3 || 0.4 || 11.7 || 8.8 || 20.5 || 1.1 || 5.9 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1995 |style="text-align:center;"| | 39 || 23 || 9 || 6 || 304 || 234 || 538 || 36 || 116 || 0.4 || 0.3 || 13.2 || 10.2 || 23.4 || 1.6 || 5.0 |-style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1996 |style="text-align:center;"| | 39 || 22 || 6 || 6 || 250 || 232 || 482 || 24 || 111 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 11.4 || 10.5 || 21.9 || 1.1 || 5.0 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1997 |style="text-align:center;"| | 39 || 24 || 8 || 4 || 237 || 196 || 433 || 40 || 95 || 0.3 || 0.2 || 9.9 || 8.2 || 18.0 || 1.7 || 4.0 |-style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1998 |style="text-align:center;"| | 39 || 9 || 0 || 3 || 49 || 51 || 100 || 16 || 25 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 5.4 || 5.7 || 11.1 || 1.8 || 2.8 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1999 |style="text-align:center;"| | 39 || 21 || 2 || 3 || 197 || 154 || 351 || 28 || 69 || 0.1 || 0.1 || 9.4 || 7.3 || 16.7 || 1.3 || 3.3 |-style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2000 |style="text-align:center;"| | 39 || 23 || 3 || 6 || 204 || 230 || 434 || 56 || 99 || 0.1 || 0.3 || 8.9 || 10.0 || 18.9 || 2.4 || 4.3 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2001 |style="text-align:center;"| | 39 || 17 || 1 || 3 || 120 || 150 || 270 || 26 || 90 || 0.1 || 0.2 || 7.1 || 8.8 || 15.9 || 1.5 || 5.3 |-style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2002 |style="text-align:center;"| | 39 || 16 || 0 || 2 || 60 || 90 || 150 || 22 || 56 || 0.0 || 0.1 || 3.8 || 5.6 || 9.4 || 1.4 || 3.5 |- class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3| Career ! 283 ! 95 ! 83 ! 2964 ! 2713 ! 5677 ! 427 ! 1225 ! 0.3 ! 0.3 ! 10.5 ! 9.6 ! 20.1 ! 1.5 ! 4.4 |}

Honours and achievements

Brownlow Medal votes
SeasonVotes
1986—
19874
1988—
1989—
199018
19912
199212
19934
199416
199514
19967
199710
1998—
19998
200014
20013
2002—
Total112
Key:
Green / Bold = Won

Individual

Post-football and coaching career

Early coaching career

Liberatore coached the Box Hill Hawks in the Victorian Football League in 2003, taking them to the Grand Final.[13]

Carlton Football Club assistant coach (2004-2007)

Between 2004 and 2007, he held an assistant coaching position at under senior coach Denis Pagan before Pagan was replaced by fellow Carlton assistant coach Brett Ratten as caretaker senior coach with six matches remaining in the 2007 season. However, as part of the changeover, Liberatore then departed the Carlton Football Club at the end of the 2007 season.[14]

Other coaching roles

In 2008, he was the senior coach of the Sunbury Lions Football Club in the Ballarat Football League.[15] In 2009, he became the senior coach of the West Footscray Roosters, a team playing in the Melbourne suburban Western Region Football League.[16]

2008 radio interview controversy

In a radio interview in the 2008 pre-season, Liberatore accused then Bulldogs CEO Campbell Rose of causing dissension at the club and being more concerned with making money than winning football matches. His comments saw him briefly banished from the club until he came to apologise to the president David Smorgon later in the year.[17]

Family

Liberatore married his wife Jane, a schoolteacher, in 1991.[18] Together, they had two sons, Tom and Oliver Liberatore, and a daughter named Meg. News of a divorce between Liberatore and his wife became public in April 2008 when Jane demanded the sale of Liberatore's medals during the legal proceedings, with the intention of using the money to create a trust fund for their children's education.[19]

Liberatore was present at the 2016 AFL Grand Final with his daughter and his mother, and was seen celebrating the Bulldogs' victory with his son Tom after the game.[citation needed]

Holden

Liberatore also worked for Holden, and was interviewed in 2019 for the social history project about his time working for the company. The recording can be found at the National Library of Australia.[20]

Footnotes

1. The true number of tackles is likely slightly higher than 1225, as tackle statistics were not recorded during 1986, in which Liberatore played the first four of his 283 games.

References

  1. ^ "Player Totals". AFL Tables. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  2. ^ pg 375. Australia's Blackest Sporting Moments: The Top 100. By Stephen Hagan. Published by Ngalga Warralu Publishing Pty Ltd, 2006. ISBN 1-921212-00-4, 978-1-921212-00-0
  3. ^ "The legend of Tony Liberatore". westernbulldogs.com.au. 14 June 2016.
  4. ^
  5. ^ "TONY LIBERATORE". Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  6. ^ "TONY LIBERATORE". Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  7. ^ "1993 Stats". AFL Tables. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  8. ^ "1994 Stats". AFL Tables. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  9. ^ "1995 Stats". AFL Tables. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  10. ^ "1996 Stats". AFL Tables. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  11. ^ "Season and Game Records". AFL Tables. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  12. ^ Tony Liberatore's player profile at AFL Tables
  13. ^ "Coaches who beat the odds meet again". 21 September 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Tony Liberatore". Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Little Libba takes the reigns". 7 November 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  16. ^ Mallinder, Terry (4 Nov 2008)Liberatore a West Footscray Rooster Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ Wilson, Caroline (28 April 2009). "Son of a gun may help heal Libba's rift with Dogs". The Age.
  18. ^ Warner, Michael & Collier, Karen (24 April 2008). "Tony Liberatore's Brownlow caught in marriage split". Herald Sun.
  19. ^ Warner, Michael (24 April 2008). "Tony Liberatore may have to sell medals". Daily Telegraph.
  20. ^ Liberatore, T.; Thompson, A. (interviewer) (2019). Tony Liberatore interviewed by Alistair Thomson in the Social histories of Holden in Australia oral history project, National Library of Australia, Retrieved 20 Australia 2026.