bornadog
09-04-2011, 12:15 PM
Mark Stevens (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/tom-liberatore-the-extractor/story-e6frf9jf-1226036338434)
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa198/mmsalih/338402-tom-liberatore.jpg
TOM Liberatore is unlikely to need a ghost writer if a publisher one day comes knocking in search of an autobiography.
At 18, Liberatore is an Australian history buff with a passion for writing.
Determined to combine both in a career outside the AFL, he is a close follower of best-selling author Peter FitzSimons, a former Wallabies forward who went on to forge a decorated writing career.
After scoring 94 in his VCE at St Kevin's College last year, Liberatore is studying Arts at Melbourne University and on his way towards perhaps following in FitzSimons' footsteps.
As other hopefuls had eyes only for the under-18 finals last season and then the make-or-break draft camp, Liberatore was more focused on study than breaking records for the vertical jump.
His coach at Calder Cannons last year, Marty Allison, was taken aback by Liberatore's attitude at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra as his rivals went into a frenzy to impress.
"At camp time in October, it's getting towards exams and as much as we encourage the guys that education is more important than football, the anxiety levels are so high . . . they're getting grilled by AFL clubs, sometimes by up to six to 10 club staff," Allison said.
"I remember at the camp asking Tom what he'd been up to and he replied, 'I've just done some study for three hours'.
"He's very well balanced in terms of his footy and education and everything else that goes along with life."
Western Bulldogs recruiting manager Simon Dalrymple said Liberatore's VCE success highlighted his resolve.
"He would admit it, and speaking to his teachers at St Kevin's, he's had to work at his study. It's not just a naturally gifted thing," Dalrymple said.
"It shows he just goes about his business and gets the job done in every facet."
In keeping with that theme, Liberatore was not keen to be photographed with his famous father Tony this week, preferring to keep his head down in the formative stages of his career at Whitten Oval.
Allison said Liberatore had always been more comfortable in the shadows of others and nothing had changed.
"All this attention he's getting and this article you're writing, he won't enjoy that," he said.
"All Tommy wants to do is just play footy. As his AFL career progresses, he's not going to be the Shane Crawford of this world. That's an extreme example, but it's not Tommy's go.
"He just wants to go out there, play, find the footy and loves applying pressure to the opposition so he can get the ball back."
All the above provides an insight into why Liberatore has been able to handle the heat of his first two AFL games with the unrelenting focus of a seasoned 25-year-old.
If the Bulldogs were to close voting and hold their best-and-fairest count now, Liberatore might just be ahead.
He was clearly the club's best player to halftime against Essendon in Round 1 and picked up 28 disposals against the Brisbane Lions last Sunday.
Against the Lions, 11 of the 28 were of the contested variety, underlining a rare ability to win his own ball.
Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade has high praise for the unassuming Liberatore, who has comfortably slotted into a midfield/forward role.
"Certainly football-wise, his ability to win the ball and distribute it is as good as anyone going around," Eade said.
There is also class to match the grunt; Liberatore's efficiency rate of 86 per cent was the highest of all the Bulldogs against the Lions. The piercing left-foot passes to Barry Hall were noted, but it was Liberatore's instinctive handball over his shoulder to Ryan Griffen that dominated TV review programs.
"We see that all the time at training. That's not anything out of the ordinary," Eade said.
"He's got great vision."
Allison, who coached Liberatore for two years at the Cannons in the under-18s, has known for some time the kid was something special.
Asked to comment on Liberatore's instant impact, Allison replied: "Am I surprised at how well he's gone? Not really.
"That's really easy to say in hindsight, isn't it? But I've always believed he has been the best I've seen in my experience -- either coaching or watching -- at winning clearances from stoppages."
It is not as if Allison has not been exposed to the elite, having been involved in the TAC Cup for seven years.
"He was known in our coaching group as 'The Extractor'," Allison said.
Liberatore started earning the nickname as a bottom-age under-18 player in 2009.
"Generally speaking, we don't play bottom-age players through the midfield because their bodies aren't up to it yet, but Tom was just so clearly the extractor -- he knew his way around heavy traffic and he was never really going to get hurt," Allison said.
When Liberatore did win it, invariably he dished off to another Cannons gun, life-long friend Mitch Wallis.
"He's played so much footy with Mitch . . . they know each other's game. A bit like the Krakouer brothers, they're just as good as each other," Allison said. "As the years unfold, you'll probably see it more and more."
Wallis, the son of another Dogs great, Steve, was taken at pick 22 as a father-son selection and is banging the door down to make his AFL debut.
Liberatore, who went at 41 under father-son rules, is now looming as the steal of the draft.
For former Bulldogs skipper Luke Darcy, it has been a stark reminder of how the years can fly by.
"I remember sitting next to little Tom on a plane to Darwin once. I reckon he would have been all of five years old," Darcy said.
"I was amazed at the depth of his footy knowledge. He was fanatical.
"You could ask little Tom who No. 23 for Fremantle was. I'd have no idea, but he'd get it. He'd get every player. You could do it in reverse and ask which number such and such wore. He'd get that, too.
"In the blink of an eye, he's dominating in his first two games in the AFL. It is a credit to him."
Father Tony, the 1990 Brownlow medallist who retired in 2002, was on the same flight and is also wondering where the years have gone.
With his old teammate Wallis, he coached the pair in the St Bernard's under-9s.
"Gee, time has gone quickly," Liberatore said.
He sat in the outer at Etihad Stadium last Sunday and chuckled at the sight of his son playing on Brisbane's Luke Power. Liberatore Sr used to hassle the same player in his final years at the Dogs.
"I don't get too involved. I take a backward step . . . it's good just to sit there, watch and observe," Liberatore said.
"It's been great. It's still exciting.
"But we don't talk too much footy, to be quite honest. We have a little bit of a chat after the game, that's it."
Liberatore is as arguably even prouder of his son's academic achievements than his football success. Asked where the intelligence came from, Liberatore laughed and said Tom's mother Jane was definitely responsible.
Liberatore is as cautious as any father and in recent years had been reluctant to put added pressure on his son as speculation about the father-son selection intensified.
"It's still going to be a long process for him. Week by week, there's going to be ups and downs," Liberatore said.
Eade was also quick to add some reality about the brutal nature of AFL football.
"The issue with all young players is being able to adapt to the speed of the game and then have the body to survive and make an impact," Eade said.
"That's going to be issue going forward. We've got to be mindful how we nurse him through at times."
Dalrymple also offered some words of caution, indicating Liberatore still needed to work on building his aerobic capacity.
"The conditioning side of things was one area he had to improve on, but we were always very confident with his work ethic that he would adapt very well to that," Dalrymple said.
Then came the punchline.
"I still think he's got a bit to go with the conditioning side of things. What we're seeing already, he'll be able to do that for longer periods going forward.
"There's a big upside."
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa198/mmsalih/338402-tom-liberatore.jpg
TOM Liberatore is unlikely to need a ghost writer if a publisher one day comes knocking in search of an autobiography.
At 18, Liberatore is an Australian history buff with a passion for writing.
Determined to combine both in a career outside the AFL, he is a close follower of best-selling author Peter FitzSimons, a former Wallabies forward who went on to forge a decorated writing career.
After scoring 94 in his VCE at St Kevin's College last year, Liberatore is studying Arts at Melbourne University and on his way towards perhaps following in FitzSimons' footsteps.
As other hopefuls had eyes only for the under-18 finals last season and then the make-or-break draft camp, Liberatore was more focused on study than breaking records for the vertical jump.
His coach at Calder Cannons last year, Marty Allison, was taken aback by Liberatore's attitude at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra as his rivals went into a frenzy to impress.
"At camp time in October, it's getting towards exams and as much as we encourage the guys that education is more important than football, the anxiety levels are so high . . . they're getting grilled by AFL clubs, sometimes by up to six to 10 club staff," Allison said.
"I remember at the camp asking Tom what he'd been up to and he replied, 'I've just done some study for three hours'.
"He's very well balanced in terms of his footy and education and everything else that goes along with life."
Western Bulldogs recruiting manager Simon Dalrymple said Liberatore's VCE success highlighted his resolve.
"He would admit it, and speaking to his teachers at St Kevin's, he's had to work at his study. It's not just a naturally gifted thing," Dalrymple said.
"It shows he just goes about his business and gets the job done in every facet."
In keeping with that theme, Liberatore was not keen to be photographed with his famous father Tony this week, preferring to keep his head down in the formative stages of his career at Whitten Oval.
Allison said Liberatore had always been more comfortable in the shadows of others and nothing had changed.
"All this attention he's getting and this article you're writing, he won't enjoy that," he said.
"All Tommy wants to do is just play footy. As his AFL career progresses, he's not going to be the Shane Crawford of this world. That's an extreme example, but it's not Tommy's go.
"He just wants to go out there, play, find the footy and loves applying pressure to the opposition so he can get the ball back."
All the above provides an insight into why Liberatore has been able to handle the heat of his first two AFL games with the unrelenting focus of a seasoned 25-year-old.
If the Bulldogs were to close voting and hold their best-and-fairest count now, Liberatore might just be ahead.
He was clearly the club's best player to halftime against Essendon in Round 1 and picked up 28 disposals against the Brisbane Lions last Sunday.
Against the Lions, 11 of the 28 were of the contested variety, underlining a rare ability to win his own ball.
Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade has high praise for the unassuming Liberatore, who has comfortably slotted into a midfield/forward role.
"Certainly football-wise, his ability to win the ball and distribute it is as good as anyone going around," Eade said.
There is also class to match the grunt; Liberatore's efficiency rate of 86 per cent was the highest of all the Bulldogs against the Lions. The piercing left-foot passes to Barry Hall were noted, but it was Liberatore's instinctive handball over his shoulder to Ryan Griffen that dominated TV review programs.
"We see that all the time at training. That's not anything out of the ordinary," Eade said.
"He's got great vision."
Allison, who coached Liberatore for two years at the Cannons in the under-18s, has known for some time the kid was something special.
Asked to comment on Liberatore's instant impact, Allison replied: "Am I surprised at how well he's gone? Not really.
"That's really easy to say in hindsight, isn't it? But I've always believed he has been the best I've seen in my experience -- either coaching or watching -- at winning clearances from stoppages."
It is not as if Allison has not been exposed to the elite, having been involved in the TAC Cup for seven years.
"He was known in our coaching group as 'The Extractor'," Allison said.
Liberatore started earning the nickname as a bottom-age under-18 player in 2009.
"Generally speaking, we don't play bottom-age players through the midfield because their bodies aren't up to it yet, but Tom was just so clearly the extractor -- he knew his way around heavy traffic and he was never really going to get hurt," Allison said.
When Liberatore did win it, invariably he dished off to another Cannons gun, life-long friend Mitch Wallis.
"He's played so much footy with Mitch . . . they know each other's game. A bit like the Krakouer brothers, they're just as good as each other," Allison said. "As the years unfold, you'll probably see it more and more."
Wallis, the son of another Dogs great, Steve, was taken at pick 22 as a father-son selection and is banging the door down to make his AFL debut.
Liberatore, who went at 41 under father-son rules, is now looming as the steal of the draft.
For former Bulldogs skipper Luke Darcy, it has been a stark reminder of how the years can fly by.
"I remember sitting next to little Tom on a plane to Darwin once. I reckon he would have been all of five years old," Darcy said.
"I was amazed at the depth of his footy knowledge. He was fanatical.
"You could ask little Tom who No. 23 for Fremantle was. I'd have no idea, but he'd get it. He'd get every player. You could do it in reverse and ask which number such and such wore. He'd get that, too.
"In the blink of an eye, he's dominating in his first two games in the AFL. It is a credit to him."
Father Tony, the 1990 Brownlow medallist who retired in 2002, was on the same flight and is also wondering where the years have gone.
With his old teammate Wallis, he coached the pair in the St Bernard's under-9s.
"Gee, time has gone quickly," Liberatore said.
He sat in the outer at Etihad Stadium last Sunday and chuckled at the sight of his son playing on Brisbane's Luke Power. Liberatore Sr used to hassle the same player in his final years at the Dogs.
"I don't get too involved. I take a backward step . . . it's good just to sit there, watch and observe," Liberatore said.
"It's been great. It's still exciting.
"But we don't talk too much footy, to be quite honest. We have a little bit of a chat after the game, that's it."
Liberatore is as arguably even prouder of his son's academic achievements than his football success. Asked where the intelligence came from, Liberatore laughed and said Tom's mother Jane was definitely responsible.
Liberatore is as cautious as any father and in recent years had been reluctant to put added pressure on his son as speculation about the father-son selection intensified.
"It's still going to be a long process for him. Week by week, there's going to be ups and downs," Liberatore said.
Eade was also quick to add some reality about the brutal nature of AFL football.
"The issue with all young players is being able to adapt to the speed of the game and then have the body to survive and make an impact," Eade said.
"That's going to be issue going forward. We've got to be mindful how we nurse him through at times."
Dalrymple also offered some words of caution, indicating Liberatore still needed to work on building his aerobic capacity.
"The conditioning side of things was one area he had to improve on, but we were always very confident with his work ethic that he would adapt very well to that," Dalrymple said.
Then came the punchline.
"I still think he's got a bit to go with the conditioning side of things. What we're seeing already, he'll be able to do that for longer periods going forward.
"There's a big upside."