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 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 significantly impacted following allegations of historical child sexual abuse. This resulted in an unprecedented revocation of his Australian Football Hall of Fame status and his removal from the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2023, following an adverse finding in a civil sexual abuse trial.
In 2024, Cable was formally charged by Western Australia Police with multiple criminal counts of historical child sexual assault. Following a criminal trial in 2026, he was found not guilty on all charges.
Born in Narrogin, Western Australia, Cable made his senior debut with the Perth Football Club in the WANFL in 1962 and won the Sandover Medal as the competition's fairest and best player in 1964. He was awarded the Tassie Medal as the best player at the 1966 Australian National Football Carnival and earned selection in the All-Australian team. That same year, he played in the first of three consecutive premierships with Perth, winning the Simpson Medal as best on ground in each Grand Final, as well as a second Sandover Medal in 1968.
Cable left Perth at the end of the 1969 season to join the North Melbourne Football Club in the VFL. In his debut VFL season, he won the club's best and fairest award, the Syd Barker Medal, before returning to Western Australia. After another three years at Perth—during which he captain-coached the club in 1972 and 1973 and won his third Sandover Medal in 1973—Cable returned to North Melbourne for the 1974 season. Over the next four years, he played in two premierships (1975 and 1977) before returning to Western Australia to captain-coach East Perth. Cable retired from playing at the end of the 1979 season after sustaining severe leg injuries in a farming accident.
Cable returned to Victoria in 1981 to serve as the senior coach of North Melbourne, a position he held until 1984. He later worked as an assistant coach with the West Coast Eagles during their initial VFL seasons. Having represented Western Australia in 20 interstate matches during his playing career, Cable also coached the state team at the 1979 State of Origin Carnival, after which he was named coach of the All-Australian team.
His tally of seven best and fairest awards at Perth remains a club record. His career total of 379 premiership matches was an elite Australian rules football record until broken by Kevin Bartlett in Round 20 of the 1982 VFL season, and remains a record for any elite player born in Western Australia as of 2026.
Cable also played three pre-season/night series matches for East Perth and 21 interstate 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 games by the WAFL but not the VFL/AFL. Including these matches, Cable played 404 senior career games, tied with Brian Peake for the most by any elite player born in Western Australia. The VFL/AFL lists Cable and Peake's totals as 403, excluding their VFL/AFL pre-season matches.
The youngest of eleven children, Cable was born in Narrogin, a town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. His father, Edward, was born in England and died when Cable was six years old. 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; at age eleven, he was reprimanded by his school headmaster for devoting too much time to the sport. He made his senior debut for his local club, the Narrogin Imperials in the Upper Great Southern Football League (UGSFL), at age fifteen. After completing two years of a butcher's apprenticeship, Cable relocated to Perth to pursue a career in the Western Australian Football League (WAFL).
After being rejected by WAFL powerhouse East Fremantle for being "too small"—his height was listed as 168 cm (5 ft 6 in)—Cable signed with Perth in 1962. He began his career as a wingman, but late in the 1963 season was moved to rover. In his first full season in the position in 1964, Cable won the first of three Sandover Medals, the highest individual honour in the WAFL. He was awarded the Tassie Medal as the best player at the 1966 Australian National Football Carnival and earned selection in the All-Australian team. That 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 second Sandover Medal in 1968.
Cable's first coach at Perth, former Carlton premiership captain Ern Henfry, alerted Carlton to the talented young rover. In 1964, Carlton invited Cable to Melbourne and signed him to a "Form Four", tying him to Carlton for two seasons if he chose to play in Victoria. However, Cable had no desire to move interstate despite repeated urging from the club. For the next three seasons, Perth president Cliff Houghton forbade Cable from negotiating with VFL clubs. When this ban was lifted on 6 July 1969, Cable met with Hawthorn but declined to relocate. Later in 1969, North Melbourne secretary Ron Joseph flew to Perth to meet with Cable personally, successfully convincing him to play in Victoria. In August 1969, Cable signed a Form Four with North Melbourne, enabling his transfer to the Victorian Football League (VFL). Joseph stated that Cable was "genuinely interested in playing League football" and wanted to "prove himself in Victorian football".
When Cable moved to Victoria, North Melbourne was a struggling team, finishing last on the ladder in 1970. Despite the team's poor performance, Cable justified his reputation by winning the club's best and fairest award, the Syd Barker Medal, and finishing fourth in the Brownlow Medal count. However, North Melbourne was unable to meet a contractual clause requiring them to pay Perth $71,000 to retain his services permanently. As a result, Cable returned to Western Australia at the end of the season.
Perth Football Club (1971–1973)
Upon returning to Perth, Cable captain-coached the Perth Football Club during the 1972 and 1973 seasons, winning his third Sandover Medal in 1973.
Return to North Melbourne (1974–1977)
During Cable's absence, North Melbourne signed former Carlton premiership coach Ron Barassi and utilised the short-lived ten-year rule to recruit VFL stars Doug Wade, John Rantall, and Barry Davis. With players like Keith Greig and David Dench emerging as stars, Cable returned to North Melbourne for the 1974 VFL season. North Melbourne reached their first Grand Final since 1950 but lost to Richmond. In 1975, the Kangaroos broke through, defeating Hawthorn to claim their first VFL premiership. Following the death of his father-in-law at the end of the 1975 season, Cable considered returning to Perth. North Melbourne agreed to release him from his contract, but he opted to remain with the club. He went on to win a second VFL premiership with the club in 1977.
Following the 1977 season, Cable returned to Western Australia after accepting an offer to captain-coach East Perth. In the 1978 WAFL Grand Final, East Perth defeated Cable's former club, Perth, by two points in heavy conditions to win their first premiership since 1972. It was Cable's sixth consecutive Grand Final appearance, having played in five with North Melbourne.
Having represented Western Australia in 20 matches during his playing career, Cable also coached the state team at the 1979 State of Origin Carnival, and was subsequently named coach of the All-Australian team.