Central District veteran Luke McCabe is just one game from calling an end to his career - for good this time. 

The former Hawthorn player will quit the game after the grand final clash with Glenelg at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.

Just one year after opting to return to the Bulldogs for 2008 after a season in retirement, McCabe has decided it is time to rest his weary body.

Typical of McCabe, the epitome of a team player believes it is best to walk away now and allow the club to build for the future with young talent. He is loathe to keep a youngster out of the side if he deserves a chance.

"I won't be playing on," he said. "The body is battling.

"It is in the club's interest that I move on and they play young blokes. I don't want to stop someone. "I've also got a young family and a busy career (as a farmer).

"I've really enjoyed the year and I'm glad I came back and did it."

McCabe, a veteran of 140 games with Hawthorn and 57 at the Bulldogs, is not one for fanfare. He will be content to have a second premiership medallion draped around his neck and then walk off into the sunset - back to his farm.

When he turned up to the pre-season training at Elizabeth, he politely knocked back an interview with The Advertiser.

McCabe was reluctant to make any statements on his future, uncertain just how his summer preparation would unfold. There was no certainty he would even pull on the jumper again. "My youngest child was a little older, which made things easier for my wife (while training and playing)," he said.

"The body had felt better than the previous year when I was playing and it had settled down. I felt in reasonable nick.

"It was a challenge to come back and play. But I decided to do pre-season and see what it felt like. It was enjoyable but I did not want to make any statements."

Throughout his career, especially at the Hawks, McCabe was best known for his work out of back pocket.

In the Bulldogs' two finals he has lined up at full forward.

Not that McCabe would ever describe himself as the go-to forward. "I would never have thought I'd play full forward," he said. "(Coach) Roy (Laird) has looked after me.

"I like it up forward. It makes life enjoyable when you can worry about what the ball is doing and not the opponent."

Courtesy of The Advertiser
Story by  Warren Partland

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