Anthony 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 The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). I ...

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 The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the "best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by t ...

. Playing as a

rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US ...

, Liberatore was a long-time holder of the VFL/AFL record for most career tackles. Liberatore was born in Australia to

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

parents.

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 The Morrish Medal is an Australian rules football award. Formerly awarded to the best and fairest player in the VFL Under-19 competition (known as the Thirds prior to 1959), since 1992 the award has been given to the best player in the Victori ...

in 1984, he called , and in the hope of playing senior football.

Mick Malthouse Michael Raymond Malthouse (born 17 August 1953) is a former Australian rules footballer, who played for the St Kilda Football Club and Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). After finishing his playing career, Malthou ...

, who was Footscray senior coach at the time, invited Liberatore to train but made no guarantees that he would get a game. At his first training session with the club, Liberatore was teased by full-forward

Simon Beasley Simon Francis Beasley (born 26 July 1956) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Swan Districts Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and for the Footscray Football Club in the Victorian Football Leagu ...

, 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. Although Liberatore made his senior level debut in 1986, he mainly played in the reserves that season, winning the VFL reserves'

Gardiner Medal {{Use Australian English, date=January 2018 The Gardiner Medal was an Australian rules football award, formerly awarded to the best and fairest player in the VFL Reserves competition. Officially named the Seconds prior to 1959 and the Reserves fr ...

in both 1986 and 1988. 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

for the best and fairest senior AFL player. 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. 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, and then exceeded 100 tackles each season until 1996. His season tally of 142 tackles in 1994 stood as the VFL/AFL record until 2006, when James McDonald bettered it by one.

Playing statistics

: , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

, 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 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, 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 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, 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 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, 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 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

, 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 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, 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 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

, 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 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

, 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 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, 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 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, 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 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, 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 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, 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 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, 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

Individual *

: 1990 * Charles Sutton Medal (Footscray F.C. Best & Fairest): 1991 * Victorian Representative Honours *

( VFA/VFL Best & Fairest): 1986, 1988 *

: 1984 * Footscray F.C. Team of the Century - Interchange * Italian Team of the Century - Interchange

Post-football and coaching career

Early coaching career

Liberatore coached the Box Hill Hawks in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

in 2003, taking them to the Grand Final.

Carlton Football Club assistant coach (2004-2007)

Between 2004 and 2007, he held an assistant coaching position at under senior coach

Denis Pagan Denis Leslie Pagan (born 24 September 1947) is a former Australian rules football coach and player in the VFL/AFL. Pagan is a dual AFL premiership coach, and he also won the prestigious Victoria derby in 2020 as a trainer and owner of the horse ...

before Pagan was replaced by fellow Carlton assistant coach

Brett Ratten Brett Ratten (born 11 July 1971) is an Australian rules football coach and former player in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played 255 games for the Carlton Football Club between 1990 and 2003, including the club's 1995 premiership. He ...

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.

Other coaching roles

In 2008, he was the senior coach of the Sunbury Lions Football Club in the

Ballarat Football League The Ballarat Football League (BFL) is an Australian rules football competition that operates in the Ballarat region of Victoria, Australia. The competition formed in 1893 as the Ballarat Football Association and was renamed Ballarat Football ...

. In 2009, he became the senior coach of the West Footscray Roosters, a team playing in the Melbourne suburban

Western Region Football League The Western Region Football League is an Australian rules football semi-professional league, based in the western suburbs of Melbourne, for both seniors and juniors. History The league was formed in 1931 as the "Footscray District Football Le ...

2008 radio interview controversy

In a radio interview in the 2008 pre-season, Liberatore accused then Bulldogs CEO

Campbell Rose Campbell Alan Rose (born 7 November 1964) is the Chief Executive of VicTrack, the Victorian state government statutory authority responsible for managing the state's railway and tram based assets. Previously, he served as Chief Executive for Str ...

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 apologize to the president David Smorgon later in the year.

Family

Liberatore married his wife Jane, a schoolteacher, in 1991. 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. Liberatore was present at the

2016 AFL Grand Final The 2016 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between and the at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 1 October 2016. It was the 121st annual Grand Final of the Australian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football ...

with his daughter and his mother, and was seen celebrating the Bulldogs' victory with his son Tom after the game.

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

External links

Western Bulldogs player profile – Tony Liberatore
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Liberatore, Tony Brownlow Medal winners 1966 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Western Bulldogs players Box Hill Football Club coaches Australian people of Italian descent Victorian State of Origin players Charles Sutton Medal winners