FORMER AFL player Luke McCabe believes his laid-back country attitude and growing up in a rural area helped give him a long and successful career in league football.
Raised at Hamley Bridge, Luke says he has never been without a football, cricket or tennis ball in his hand, ultimately developing skills that would propel him to the elite level of the game, playing for Hawthorn Football Club.
"As a teenager that was all you did," he said. "Kicking the footy with your mates and having plenty of space to do it.
"The country also taught me a lot of life skills, which helped me to cope when I moved to Melbourne. A lot of kids got homesick, but being a laid-back country lad helped me to adjust."
Luke now lives back at Hamley Bridge, farming full-time with his wife Judy, brother Adrian and father Gerald.
This year, they will reap 3240 hectares, with yields already recording above average.
But the lifestyle is a far cry from the path that led Luke to becoming an AFL star.
As a youngster playing junior football with Hamley Bridge, Luke always dreamt of an AFL career.
Moving to Adelaide at 13, Luke attended Sacred Heart College - a breeding ground for AFL stars, such as the Cornes and Hartlett boys, Matthew Liptak, Andrew Mackie, Matthew Pavlich and Jason Porplyzia.
He played a lot of football there, mainly in the backlines, while occasionally travelling home on the weekends to play for Hamley.
Showing promise, Luke was approached by SANFL club Central Districts and weekends were then spent in Adelaide playing in Centrals' junior grades.
With an under-17 premiership and Teal Cup team selections under his belt, Luke was nominated for the 1993 national draft.
While he grew up barracking for the Crows, Luke was selected by the Hawks on an earlier pick (pick 15).
He wasn't too fussed after watching legendary Hawks players such as John Platten and Jason Dunstall, both of whom he played with during his 11 years at the club.
Luke made his AFL debut in 1995 and by 1998, placed second in Hawthorn's best and fairest awards to Shane Crawford.
The following season he was also a member of their pre-season premiership side.
Luke said he had many memorable moments with the Hawks but was slightly disappointed to have never won a grand final.
"The pre-season cup was good but it doesn't compare to an AFL grand final," he said
"The closest we came to it was when we beat Port Adelaide in Adelaide in the semis, but we then lost to Essendon by a kick in the preliminary final. That was a major time."
Luke says one of the toughest opponents he encountered was Adelaide Crow Andrew McLeod.
"McLeod was tough as a forward because he was agile, fast and had great change of direction," he said.
After a string of shoulder injuries, including a reconstruction, Luke retired from AFL in 2004 after 138 games.
He returned to Centrals in 2005 and was integral to the Bulldogs winning their third consecutive SANFL premiership.
For his efforts, Luke was awarded the Jack Oatey Medal for best-on-ground in the grand final.
After Centrals lost the 2006 grand final, he retired from the SANFL and returned to Hamley Bridge to farm.
His status made him the star player in the town's centenary match against United, but he failed to get a touch. It was the only game he played that year.
Not quite finished with football, Luke made a welcome return to Centrals for one final season in 2008, which included involvement in another premiership.
He played a total of 58 senior games in the SANFL.
* Full Our People report in Stock Journal, December 17 issue.
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