A civil lawsuit against AFL legend Barry Cable has begun, with Cable not attending the first day of the trial or represented by a lawyer.

Cable, 79, is facing allegations of sexual abuse from a 67-year-old Perth woman, which allegedly occurred during the prime of Cable’s playing career.

In the first day of the civil trial at Perth District Court, it was heard a second woman who alleged she was sexually abused by Cable as a child would be a witness.

The plaintiff’s lawyer alleged Cable’s abuse began with lewd conversations and touching before ultimately leading to rape and attempted rape at a public pool when the woman was 16.

“The abuse was constant, it was pervasive, it was degrading, it was in a circumstance of complete power imbalance in the sense the plaintiff was a child who was entirely powerless ... and the defendant was a well-known high-profile sportsman who played Australian rules football,” he said according to The Age.

It was also alleged the woman developed post traumatic stress disorder along with other mental ailments as a result of the abuse.

“Her life proceeds on a completely different trajectory on which it would have proceeded if not for the sexual abuse,” her lawyer said.

The woman said she first met the Cable family when they moved close to her home in 1968, at which point she was 12 and 13.

She alleges she was spoken to inappropriately when spending time alone with Cable, who at that point was at the prime of his career.

“He would say ‘my special girl’ and ‘my big girl’. He would complement me on my body, it was never about me. He would comment on my big breasts and solid legs. He was talking like this for months,” she said.

“He would say ‘my special girl’ and ‘my big girl’. He would complement me on my body, it was never about me,” she said according to the West Australian.

She said Cable offered to “coach” her, with those offers becoming more frequent and intrusive.

“I didn’t say no because I didn’t know I could,” she said. “I hated myself. I wouldn’t be able to speak — and I would run away and hide, I felt so bad.”

She said that abuse continued to escalate until attempted rape, with two of those alleged incidents coming at a public swimming pool and the changerooms of Perth Football Club.

The woman said she developed an eating disorder and began to show signs of chronic anxiety, fearing the abuse would be discovered and she would be blamed.

Cable, she said, told her, “‘Who would believe you. You are only good for this’,” before threatening to pursue her sister if she refused his advances.