At the time he was just another anonymous Australian in a South East Asian airport, straining to watch his football team back home on a flickering TV as he waited to board his flight.
The outburst that followed might have given pause to a few fellow travellers, but life would go on. For injured Western Bulldogs midfielder Tom Liberatore, however, the further he has gotten from his last game the harder it’s gotten to watch his teammates play.
It’s even harder when a victory that was so close was yanked away at the last second as it was against North Melbourne back in round 14.
“I was watching the conclusion of the Kangaroos game at Singapore Airport, that was interesting,” the 26-year-old told the Freedom in a Cage podcast.
“I threw my phone against the wall and the flight attendant was looking at me like, ‘what’s going on here. Relax its ok.’
“When you’re with other people watching the game at the ground you look at it from a more strategic perspective. But when you’re stuck in a little lounging room in Singapore, it can get a bit hairy.”
Listen: Freedom in a Cage | Tom Liberatore Part 1
The heart and soul Bulldog is two thirds of the way through recovery for his second reconstruction in four years, but has found the second time around much easier.
“I’ve been running now for three weeks doing some slow, change of direction stuff,” he said.
“It’s probably a bit smoother in terms of the physical recovery because it’s not as severe, and having that break, because I was able to get away for a few weeks throughout June, and coming back and running straight away, that helped a lot.
“It’s been a lot easier. On schedule, It’s all going well.” he said.
There’s been a focus on his core this time around because according to Liberatore, that’s what caused the ‘dismount’ against GWS in round 1 in Canberra.
Listen: Freedom in a Cage | Tom Liberatore Part 2
But while overall the experience has been better, the difficulty has come from watching his teammates labour through what’s been a tough year on field.
“I miss it more when I’m watching it and certainly a tough year makes it harder,” he said.
“2015, we obviously had a good year, a very good year, so it didn’t seem as difficult missing out on the wins because we were going well but not being able to help on the field is probably the hardest part.’
