Reuben Cooper
Reuben Cooper (born 14 August 1951) is a former Australian rules footballer. He is notable for playing for the South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL - now AFL). Biography. Cooper was born into a footballing family. His grandfather, also named Reuben Cooper, was the first "coloured" player to play in the Darwin league. His father Ron and several other relatives played top level football in Darwin. Playing career. In 1968 Cooper moved to Melbourne to play for South Melbourne but was unable to play for the "Swans" immediately due to Northern Territory transfer rules. He spent the  1968 season playing suburban football in Melbourne. He made his league debut during the 1969 VFL season as a seventeen-year-old, becoming the first player from the Northern Territory to play in the VFL. After returning to Darwin, he played for Darwin Football Club in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL). He was best on ground in the "Buffaloes"' 1970/71 grand final-winning team. Coaching career. Cooper was coach of NTFL club Nightcliff for the 1986/87 season.