Barry Cable

Barry Thomas Cable MBE (born 22 September 1943) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach.

Considered one of the greatest rovers in the sport's history, he played in 379 premiership games in the Western Australian Football League (WAFL) and the Victorian Football League (VFL), and later coached in both competitions.

However, his reputation was left in tatters after convictions of historical sex crimes, including a code-first revocation of his Hall of Fame status as well as his removal from the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2023.

Born in Narrogin, Western Australia, Cable made his debut with the Perth Football Club in the WANFL in 1962, and won the Sandover Medal as the fairest and best player in the competition in 1964.

After being rejected by Western Australian football powerhouse for being "too small" – his playing height was listed as 168 cm, or five-and-a-half feet – Cable signed with in 1962.

He began his career as a wingman, but late in 1963 was moved to his familiar position of rover.

In his first full season there, 1964, Cable would win the first of three Sandover Medals, the highest individual honour in the WAFL.

So in 1964, Carlton invited Cable to Melbourne and signed him on a "Form Four", which meant that for the next two seasons he was tied to Carlton if he were to play in Victoria.

But Cable had no desire to move interstate, despite the repeated urging from Carlton.

Cable was awarded the Tassie Medal as the best player at the 1966 Australian National Football Carnival, as well as selection in the All-Australian team.

Cable was awarded the Tassie Medal as the best player at the 1966 Australian National Football Carnival, as well as selection in the All-Australian team.

The same year, he played in the first of three consecutive premierships with Perth, winning the Simpson Medal as the best player in the Grand Final in each year, as well as a further Sandover Medal in 1968.

The same year, he played in the first of three consecutive premierships with Perth, winning the Simpson Medal as the best player in all three grand finals, as well as a further Sandover Medal in 1968.

Cable's first coach at Perth was former premiership captain Ern Henfry, who alerted the Blues about the talented young rover.

Cable left Perth at the end of the 1969 season to play for the North Melbourne Football Club in the VFL, and won the club's best and fairest award, the Syd Barker Medal, before returning to Western Australia at the end of the season.

During the following three seasons, Perth president Cliff Houghton forbade Cable from negotiating with VFL clubs, and when on 6 July 1969 this ban was lifted and Cable spoke with he did not decide to move.

It was not until secretary Ron Joseph flew over to Perth and met with Cable personally in 1969 that Cable decided to play in Victoria.

In August of that year, Cable signed a form four with the North Melbourne Football Club, enabling him to transfer to the Victorian Football League (VFL).

The secretary of North Melbourne, Ron Joseph, said Cable was "genuinely interested in playing League football", and wanted to "prove himself in Victorian football".

At the time Cable made his initial move to Victoria, were a struggling team, still a few years away from becoming one of the powerhouses of the decade.

1970 was a miserable year for the Kangaroos as they finished last on the ladder, but Cable justified the hype over his reputation by winning the Syd Barker Medal and finishing fourth in the Brownlow Medal vote count.

However, North Melbourne were unable to meet a clause in his contract, which required them to pay Perth $71,000 to retain Cable's services.

This was a large sum, especially in the days when being a VFL footballer was not a full-time profession as it would become in later decades.

As a result, Cable returned to Western Australia.

Following another three years at Perth, in which he captain-coached the club in 1972 and 1973 and won his third Sandover Medal in the latter year, Cable returned to North Melbourne for the 1974 season.

Back at Perth, Cable captain-coached the Perth Football Club in 1972 and 1973 and won his third Sandover Medal in the latter year.

During his absence, North Melbourne had managed to sign former Carlton premiership coach Ron Barassi and took advantage of the short-lived Ten-Year Rule to land the signatures of VFL stars Doug Wade, John Rantall and Barry Davis.

In another four years at the club, he played in two premierships, in 1975 and 1977, before again returning to Perth after accepting an offer to captain-coach.

Cable retired from playing at the end of the 1979 season, having injured himself in a farming accident.

Having represented Western Australia in a total of 20 matches during his playing career, Cable also coached the team at the 1979 State of Origin Carnival, later being named coach of the All-Australian team.

His tally of seven best and fairest awards at Perth is a club record, while his career total of 379 premiership matches is a record for any elite Australian rules football player born in Western Australia as of 2022, and was also an elite Australian rules football record until broken by Kevin Bartlett in Round 20 of the 1982 VFL season.

Cable also played three pre-season/night series matches for East Perth and 21 interstate football matches (20 for Western Australia and one for Victoria), along with one pre-season/night series match for North Melbourne (these are recognised as senior by the WAFL but not the VFL/AFL).

If these are included, then Cable played a total of 404 senior career games, which is also the most (equal with Brian Peake) of any elite Australian rules football player born in Western Australia.

The VFL/AFL list Cable and Peake's total as 403, excluding their VFL/AFL pre-season/night series match (Cable for North Melbourne and Peake for Geelong).

The youngest of eleven children, Cable was born in Narrogin, a country town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.

His father, Edward, born in England, died when Cable was six and he was raised by his indigenous mother, Dorothy a member of the Noongar people of south-west Western Australia.

Cable spent much of his childhood playing football – aged eleven, he was reprimanded by his school headmaster for devoting too much time to playing.

Cable debuted for the senior side of his local club, the Narrogin Imperials in the Upper Great Southern Football League (UGSFL), at the age of fifteen.

After spending two years as a butcher's apprentice, Cable moved to Perth to attempt to play in the Western Australian Football League (WAFL).

Cable returned to Victoria in 1981 to become the senior coach of North Melbourne, a role which he held until 1984, and later worked as an assistant at the West Coast Eagles during their first years in the VFL.