Blues face new tanking claims
Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 9:38 am
Carlton's tough season could be about to take another turn for the worse, with former assistant Tony Liberatore set to raise fresh allegations of the Blues tanking during the 2007 season.
Liberatore is the latest guest on Fox Sport's Open Mike program on Monday night and while the full interview has not gone to air yet, excerpts from it have revealed him opening up on a number of topics, including the management of the Carlton team late in the 2007 season.
Carlton may have reason to be concerned especially as the league launched a fresh investigation into Melbourne's team management during 2009 after now Blues midfielder Brock Mclean raised fresh allegations about that season around this time last year.
After an extensive investigation, the league was careful not to say the Demons tanked that year in order to earn a priority draft selection.
But the AFL still fined the Demons $500,000, while former football manager Chris Connolly and former coach Dean Bailey were suspended for actions prejudicial to the interests of the AFL.
Liberatore said former AFL administrations manager Rod Austin has previously interviewed him in regards to Carlton's 2007 season, one where they finished last and secured No.1 draft selection Matthew Kreuzer.
However Liberatore's allegations may be enough for the AFL to launch a new investigation, particularly in the wake of Melbourne being fined last February.
"Players will always try on the football ground, so that's where the misconception about tanking is," Liberatore told the program.
"I still believe that (tanking) is something that occurred ... players at the time were told don't play for the rest of the year, you have an injured shin. And to me that's tanking, isn't it?"
At the time, Carlton were being coached by then interim coach Brett Ratten, who would subsequently take over the role full time until he was sacked at the end of last season. Ratten is currently an assistant at ladder-leading Hawthorn.
Liberatore's comments echo suggestions made by former Carlton forward Brendan Fevola, who raised allegations of tanking in an interview last year.
Fevola was a key figure in a loss to Collingwood that season, one where the Blues led the Magpies at three-quarter time by a goal.
But Fevola, who kicked six goals in that match, was taken off the field and forced to watch on as Collingwood booted eight goals to three in the final term to secure victory.
Fevola was officially listed as having hurt his quad but went on to play the next week and boot five goals.
During that period, though, Fevola had been playing with a broken finger for a month before being sent for surgery on his finger with two matches remaining, one of which was a controversial Round 22 clash with Melbourne, dubbed the 'Kreuzer Cup' as the loser would earn the No.1 draft selection the following year.
Although Carlton have been cleared of tanking in that loss, reportedly due to the fact they hit the post on seven occasions, Fevola believed this is what happened.
"It is pretty obvious to people. The club didn't want to win and I wouldn't have wanted to win if I was a supporter. The long-term gain was not to win that game (in Round 22)," Fevola told The Australian.
"But no one ever said the word tanking. No one ever said we are going to deliberately lose. The AFL can't do anything until they find that evidence.
"We would tag Travis Johnstone every time we played them, because Ratts (coach Brett Ratten) came from Melbourne (as an assistant coach) - and Johnstone had 42 touches.
"If we were serious about it, we would have tagged him."
http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/showt ... 90&page=20
Liberatore is the latest guest on Fox Sport's Open Mike program on Monday night and while the full interview has not gone to air yet, excerpts from it have revealed him opening up on a number of topics, including the management of the Carlton team late in the 2007 season.
Carlton may have reason to be concerned especially as the league launched a fresh investigation into Melbourne's team management during 2009 after now Blues midfielder Brock Mclean raised fresh allegations about that season around this time last year.
After an extensive investigation, the league was careful not to say the Demons tanked that year in order to earn a priority draft selection.
But the AFL still fined the Demons $500,000, while former football manager Chris Connolly and former coach Dean Bailey were suspended for actions prejudicial to the interests of the AFL.
Liberatore said former AFL administrations manager Rod Austin has previously interviewed him in regards to Carlton's 2007 season, one where they finished last and secured No.1 draft selection Matthew Kreuzer.
However Liberatore's allegations may be enough for the AFL to launch a new investigation, particularly in the wake of Melbourne being fined last February.
"Players will always try on the football ground, so that's where the misconception about tanking is," Liberatore told the program.
"I still believe that (tanking) is something that occurred ... players at the time were told don't play for the rest of the year, you have an injured shin. And to me that's tanking, isn't it?"
At the time, Carlton were being coached by then interim coach Brett Ratten, who would subsequently take over the role full time until he was sacked at the end of last season. Ratten is currently an assistant at ladder-leading Hawthorn.
Liberatore's comments echo suggestions made by former Carlton forward Brendan Fevola, who raised allegations of tanking in an interview last year.
Fevola was a key figure in a loss to Collingwood that season, one where the Blues led the Magpies at three-quarter time by a goal.
But Fevola, who kicked six goals in that match, was taken off the field and forced to watch on as Collingwood booted eight goals to three in the final term to secure victory.
Fevola was officially listed as having hurt his quad but went on to play the next week and boot five goals.
During that period, though, Fevola had been playing with a broken finger for a month before being sent for surgery on his finger with two matches remaining, one of which was a controversial Round 22 clash with Melbourne, dubbed the 'Kreuzer Cup' as the loser would earn the No.1 draft selection the following year.
Although Carlton have been cleared of tanking in that loss, reportedly due to the fact they hit the post on seven occasions, Fevola believed this is what happened.
"It is pretty obvious to people. The club didn't want to win and I wouldn't have wanted to win if I was a supporter. The long-term gain was not to win that game (in Round 22)," Fevola told The Australian.
"But no one ever said the word tanking. No one ever said we are going to deliberately lose. The AFL can't do anything until they find that evidence.
"We would tag Travis Johnstone every time we played them, because Ratts (coach Brett Ratten) came from Melbourne (as an assistant coach) - and Johnstone had 42 touches.
"If we were serious about it, we would have tagged him."
http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/showt ... 90&page=20
