IN HIS prime, there were none better than Barry Cable in extracting the hard ball and firing off a well-executed handpass to a team-mate in the clear.
The nugetty rover's record for WAFL clubs Perth and East Perth, VFL club North Melbourne and for WA in interstate matches is phenomenal: seven premierships, three Sandover medals, seven Simpson medals in 406 senior games, a Legend in the West Australian Football Hall of Fame, Australian Football Hall of Fame selection and coach of the AFL Indigenous Team of the Century (1904-2004).
In a recent interview with Inside Football magazine, Cable reveals it was club loyalty that kept him in WA. And the small fact Perth were the best team in the West; Cable at the helm in the Demons' three premierships in 1966, 1967 and 1968.
In 1964, Cable signed a Form Four with Carlton (which tied potential recruits to clubs for two years). But he eventually made his way to Victoria in 1970, joining North Melbourne as a 28-year-old then returning to the Demons in 1971 before a second stint with the Kangaroos from 1974.
"I was close to going to Carlton. The closest was in the 1966 interstate carnival," Cable said. "I was picked for Western Australia and I spoke to John Nicholls, who was playing for Victoria. My Form Four had nearly expired. But I said at the time a couple of other clubs wanted me to sign up for them. I felt that I wouldn’t go to Victoria so there was no point on signing with another club. I didn’t want to have them pay for it, knowing that I wouldn’t be going."
Cable bid his time with Perth then accepted an offer from North Melbourne. In his first stint with the Kangaroos in 1970, Cable placed fourth in the Brownlow Medal, four votes behind the winner.
"I was a bit disappointed (to return home) but I had made the commitment to go back, even though I was ready to fly the following year," Cable said. "I came back and played in WA from 1971 to 1973 then returned to North Melbourne. I was going on 31 by the time I came back, and from the age of 31 to 34 I played in more finals than most players did. We played in 17 finals games.
"The only thing I had in my mind was that I was running out of time (to play again in the VFL)," he said. "I thought if I don’t get cracking soon, I’ll miss the boat completely. But it couldn’t have been timed any better as it turned out. I could have been younger, which would have been good for me personally, but everything turned out perfectly."
Cable was the midfield general in North's rise to their first premiership in 1975.
Tragedy struck in 1979 when a tractor accident almost claimed Cable's life and which also caused serious injury to his leg, thereby ending his playing career. But on recovery, Cable found a way to stay involved in football. An offer to coach the Kangaroos came just two years later.
"In 1981 I got a phone call from (North's) Ron Joseph, and Malcolm (Blight), who was the coach, was with him," Cable recalls. "At first I thought it was a joke. I was doing other things, but the way Ron spoke I realised he was serious. I said 'When?' and they said, 'Next week!'. I flew out at midnight, got there at 5am, and met the full committee for breakfast. Then I met the players and took over the coaching that afternoon."
Cable is extremely proud of his selection in the Indigenous Team of the Century.
"It was fantastic to be named as one of the players and the coach of that team," he said. "My mother was Aboriginal and had a fantastic heritage. To be named with those guys who are such tremendous players was great."
* Read the interview in full
here.
DARREN MONCRIEFF
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Friday, August 22, 2008
Last Modified on 22/08/2008 02:37