News Tony Liberatore on Open Mike

[Dazb86]

Enjoyed that. Easily the best tackler of the 90's.

 

[SonOfScray]

Enjoyed that. Easily the best tackler of the 90's.

All time.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

That was very enjoyable. His guilty smirks when he talks about punching somebody were easily the highlight.

 

[Leon]

Geez I ****en love Libba.

Heart and soul of our club in the 90's, one of the hardest bastards you'll ever see, never say die, and one of the best players in our history. Unbelievably good bloke too - can personally attest to this.

Watching this and I suddenly realized how much I've missed the bugger since he retired (although his boy at the moment is obviously pretty handy )


Some random thoughts on what was spoken about:

- The Knights Incident. Never been any doubt in my mind that he did it. I might be on my own a bit but the criticism he copped after that was mostly justified. But another thing I love about him is that he doesn't shy away from it. He admitted it, he accepted he was wrong and accepts the criticism.

- That part where he was talking about how he only changed his game/turned into a niggling tagger resonated with me a lot. It really gives me the shits when people and supporters alike say "How did that dirty bastard ever win a Brownlow" etc? People forget that pre 1996, Libba was a damn bloody good on baller, one of the best in the league. That midfield we had in the early 90's when we were a good side under Wheeler and Joyce - Libba was a huge part of that.

- I liked his attitude re: Paul Kelly and the other players he had those big tussles with. Footy is a bloody hard game and Libba and Paul Kelly were ferocious competitors, but at the end of the day, you shake hands and you move on. Was good to hear him say that he and Kelly have had a beer in recent years.

- Although I love him to pieces, I had to laugh at him claiming he wasn't a dirty player. Sorry, Libba. You were. But I don't care. Dirty doesn't mean you weren't any good. Leigh Matthews, Wayne Carey, Dermott Brereton, Greg Williams, those Essendon pricks in the mid 80's, countless others I don't care to name - they were all awesome. All some of the dirtiest, meanest bastards to ever play footy. Not saying Libba was as good as those blokes but being dirty has nothing to do with how good they were and it shouldn't with regards to Libba either.

- Carlton supporters: stop kidding yourselves. You tanked. You are absolutely delusional in trying to character assassinate him and your laughable history reviosionism to defend yourselves from the tanking claims are as bad ass Essendon's with ASADA at the moment. If Carlton did not tank under Pagan then I'm Elvis Presley.

- Although I love him and so does everyone else who supports the club I don't have a problem at all with supporters of other clubs hating him. Players like him are always loved by their own supporters but hated by all others. Can certainly see why Docker fans love Ballantine/Crowley but they will always cop abuse from other supporters and that's fair enough.


So to sum up, love him, adore him, miss him, love his boy nearly as much, could not get my wallet out fast enough to pay for a beer for him if I saw him at the pub.

 

[Super Hans]

All bias aside of it being a bulldogs player, I thought it was one of the more ordinary open Mike's.

 

[Igloo]

Deleted the hearsay and conjecture.

 

[Fossie 32]

Leon

" I might be on my own a bit but the criticism he copped after that was mostly justified."

Like he said, there was a war going on at the time* and there was literally a million times more coverage of him hitting the bleeder! It went on and on with all and sundry sticking the boots into him for hitting someone in a footy game. Compared to other news and even other footy incidents, I reckon it was a huge over - reaction and the level of the criticism was not justified.

*ok, I actually don't remember that but sure he was right

 

[Mutt]

Geez I ****en love Libba.
- Carlton supporters: stop kidding yourselves. You tanked. You are absolutely delusional in trying to character assassinate him and your laughable history reviosionism to defend yourselves from the tanking claims are as bad ass Essendon's with ASADA at the moment. If Carlton did not tank under Pagan then I'm Elvis Presley.

My understanding is that Pagan was sacked in late July 2007 and Ratten was appointed as caretaker and then later confirmed as senior coach. It was under Ratten in late 2007 that the tanking is alleged to have occurred.

 

[Lucky Star]

- I liked his attitude re: Paul Kelly and the other players he had those big tussles with. Footy is a bloody hard game and Libba and Paul Kelly were ferocious competitors, but at the end of the day, you shake hands and you move on.

Kelly (and Lockett) actually refused to shake his hand after one game (SCG I think)... Pluga clearly calling him a "wog"

 

[immortalmike]

Kelly (and Lockett) actually refused to shake his hand after one game (SCG I think)... Pluga clearly calling him a "wog"

Firstly, it's a bit rich Tony Lockett taking a moral stand on a footy field and secondly why wasn't he then up for racial vilification. Or doesn't "wog" count?

 

[NBates]

Firstly, it's a bit rich Tony Lockett taking a moral stand on a footy field and secondly why wasn't he then up for racial vilification. Or doesn't "wog" count?

You must be a young fella - no such thing as vilification in those days.

 

[immortalmike]

You must be a young fella - no such thing as vilification in those days.

Not that young. And if you mean the 90s. Yes there was.

 

[Butane]

- Although I love him to pieces, I had to laugh at him claiming he wasn't a dirty player. Sorry, Libba. You were. But I don't care. Dirty doesn't mean you weren't any good. Leigh Matthews, Wayne Carey, Dermott Brereton, Greg Williams, those Essendon pricks in the mid 80's, countless others I don't care to name - they were all awesome.

Compare Matthews, Carey, Breteton, Ablett snr, Lockett and Greg Williams history at the tribunal compared to Libba and you'll find that Libba was the cleanest of the lot. Don't think he got reported for the first 8 years of his career. He changed because he had to and became dirtier and stepped over the mark on occasions but his natural instinct wasn't to break the rules like the other guys you mentioned.

Libba got reported less in 15 years than Cam Mooney in 1

 

[Leon]

Leon

" I might be on my own a bit but the criticism he copped after that was mostly justified."

Like he said, there was a war going on at the time* and there was literally a million times more coverage of him hitting the bleeder! It went on and on with all and sundry sticking the boots into him for hitting someone in a footy game. Compared to other news and even other footy incidents, I reckon it was a huge over - reaction and the level of the criticism was not justified.

*ok, I actually don't remember that but sure he was right

Oh yes, I agree that the criticism was way over the top, but the basic premise i.e that he was dirty and the hit on Knights was poor form was hard to argue with.

I recall the likes of Caroline Wilson and Robert Walls being scathing over the Knights incident, and whilst the likes of them having a go at Libba back then annoyed me I largely just look back and roll my eyes at it because

a) Wilson is a vindictive witch hunter. Everyone who follows footy should surely know this. She thrives on controversy and drama in footy and picking a team or someone or something she doesn't like and pursuing them unrelentingly like a dog with a bone. Just look at her at the moment with James Hird (although I completely agree with her that Hird's conduct in the past year has been a disgrace and must be sacked/forced to resign/suspended etc)

b) Walls is an idiot. Respected by very few. Also a massive hypocrite as he was a massively dirty player himself and also admitted that when he was Brisbane coach he essentially had a bunch of senior players beat up on a young kid to toughen him up.

My understanding is that Pagan was sacked in late July 2007 and Ratten was appointed as caretaker and then later confirmed as senior coach. It was under Ratten in late 2007 that the tanking is alleged to have occurred.

Yep think you're right, my memory's a bit hazy but I do not have any doubt that Carlton tanked to get Kruezer in 2007.

Kelly (and Lockett) actually refused to shake his hand after one game (SCG I think)... Pluga clearly calling him a "wog"

Yep, remember it well with Kelly. Thought he was a sook at the time who should harden up, but still good to see they've put it behind them.

Doesn't surprise me about Lockett. Massive tool. Great full forward, but a tool and a massive thug who made Libba look like angel.

Compare Matthews, Carey, Breteton, Ablett snr, Lockett and Greg Williams history at the tribunal compared to Libba and you'll find that Libba was the cleanest of the lot. Don't think he got reported for the first 8 years of his career. He changed because he had to and became dirtier and stepped over the mark on occasions but his natural instinct wasn't to break the rules like the other guys you mentioned.

Libba got reported less in 15 years than Cam Mooney in 1

Completely agree, it's not even a contest comparing Libba to those blokes in terms thuggery/dirtiness and I fully agree that Libba was dirty.

The media loved playing up Libba as a pantomime villain though. Completely understand people being shitty at them for this but that's the way they have always operated.

 

[Trugo3013]

Any chance someone could upload it for us non-foxtel scrubs?

missed it. Hope someone can upload it.

done.
part one:


part two in a bit:

 

[boydsno1]

legend.

 

[Bulldog1954]

Was reasonably interesting, not one of the better Open Mikes though. One thing that annoyed me on this program and in general is I people under-estimate how good a footballer he was before becoming a tagger. He is made out just to be a battler - his impact on games was huge. He was a champion footballer for a long time who was the one getting tagged himself

 

[josh the gent]

Was reasonably interesting, not one of the better Open Mikes though. One thing that annoyed me on this program and in general is I people under-estimate how good a footballer he was before becoming a tagger. He is made out just to be a battler - his impact on games was huge. He was a champion footballer for a long time who was the one getting tagged himself

EXACTLY!!!

I was actually quite disappointed with the interview.

Thought Mike brushed past Libba's early career - winning the league medal for best player at first u19s, then reserves level - then he won the brownlow.

He didn't achieve all that by being a tagger, he achieved that through being a brilliant rover.

Add to that the fact that he set the modern standard for tackling.

One of my all-time favourite players...

 

[Clay]

Adding to the comments immediately above, I too was disappointed that the tenor of the interview was "well done on getting 280 games".

 

[seysearles]

Just watched Libba on Open Mike. Seems like a genuinely nice person. Very well spoken also. So very different from his on-field persona. You really do forget what a wonderful player he was. To win a Brownlow and miss the final 3 games in a season is an incredible feat. Not to mention doing a knee and only missing 3 games. I don't think anyone can argue his Brownlow wasn't deserved in the face of those facts. The footage of a 163cm Libba bringing down Sav Rocca at 196cm (more than a foot taller than him!!!) was just incredible. The AFL should be using footage like that to publicise the wonderful nature of AFL football which makes this sort of thing possible.

 

[Harlequin]

I hope you don't mind me posting here.
I watched the Open Mike with Libba the other night and just wanted to say I thought he was really good to listen to.

He was certainly a tough little bugger on the field and the type of player we would all have loved to have in our clubs.

I was watching the night he won his Brownlow and was in awe of him.

I especially thought his last comments in relation to his son Tom was great. 'we are very proud of Tom'.

The Liberatore legend lives on at the Bulldogs and what a great legend they are.

 

[willofwest]

done.
part one:


part two in a bit:

Thanks Trugo for posting, interesting viewing.

 

[Smiley Boy]

That was most certainly a goal in the 97 prelim

 

[theAthenian]

what about the vision of him taking on that north player twice his size and bringing him to the ground - what a gutsy player - like a lion on the serengeti taking on a gnu!
the best tackler the comp has ever seen - a great bulldog a great guy
truely deserves the love

 

[Mutt]

what about the vision of him taking on that north player twice his size and bringing him to the ground - what a gutsy player - like a lion on the serengeti taking on a gnu!
the best tackler the comp has ever seen - a great bulldog a great guy
truely deserves the love

I also love that footage - Tony Liberatore at 163cm and 77kg taking down the 196cm, 112kg Saverio Rocca!

And his son is just as ferocious and determined.

Go Dogs!