LIBBA REMEMBERS DOGS’ LAST RITES

FOOTSCRAY had literally called “last drinks” before its last-ditch survival effort pulled the much-loved but debt-ridden club back from the brink of a merger or even VFL-AFL extinction.

In a week when the Western Bulldogs are celebrating the 30th anniversary of 1989’s people-powered Fightback campaign, Tony Liberatore has recalled a player gathering as the club edged towards oblivion.

“It was known that the club was probably going to fold and I remember having last drinks at the social club, which is no longer there,” Liberatore said. “It was mainly made up of reserves players and maybe Doug Hawkins, because the club was going to merge with Fitzroy and some of the more senior players probably didn’t want to have a last celebration drink-type thing.

“We were told that the club was going to merge.

“I was a reserves grade player then and as a 22-yearold I probably didn’t understand the magnitude of what happened. But it was quite amazing.”

Liberatore, who won the Brownlow Medal in 1990, is still in awe of the effort that went into saving the club. About 10,000 people attended a rally at Western Oval in October 1989, where the groundswell of support for the Dogs reached critical mass.

“The players and the supporters got together on that day and it was fantastic,” 261game Bulldog Stephen Wallis recalled.

“It had been a tough year financially, we weren’t getting paid at that stage because we didn’t have the finances, but to see the rallying of all teams behind the Bulldogs and the support of the (fans) was just unbelievable.

“It kept us in the competition and we’ll look back on that as being a pivotal part of our history.”

The Bulldogs will wear specially themed Fightback guernseys against Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Sunday to commemorate the efforts of those who helped ensure the club’s survival.