Source : ABC NEWS
Carlton football club has paid tribute to high-flying Western Australian footballer Peter Bosustow, who has died after a long illness at the age of 67.
Bosustow, known as “the Buzz”, won two VFL premierships with the Blues in the 80s.
He started off in the WAFL, playing six seasons for the Perth Demons, playing in two grand finals including the 1977 premiership win, and a seven-goal haul in the 1978 grand final loss to East Perth.
Bosustow, who was the son of 50s Carlton ruck-rover Bob Bosustow, headed east in 1981 to join the Blues under coach David Parkin alongside another Western Australian player, Claremont’s Ken Hunter.
His fellow dual premiership player Hunter paid tribute to Bosustow on Monday.
“He was a unique character and a rare football talent in equal measure,” Hunter said. “That talent was obvious in Perth but it went to another level when he came to Melbourne.
“The Carlton people loved ‘Buzz’ and he loved Carlton.”
Four-time premiership coach Parkin described Bosustow as “an exceptional talent” who “could do things on a footy field few could emulate”.
Parkin added that despite the “ups and downs of football” he and Bosustow had remained “really good mates”.
“We used to call, text or email each other a lot, particularly through the course of his illness which began 18 months ago.
“As a player he tested me like nobody else, but he was always quick to apologise to me and the players, and it was just a bit sad that he decided to go home. But he was a gem of a bloke.”
Bosustow’s brilliant VFL debut year
Bosustow would only play three seasons for Carlton, but he made an impact with his dynamic play, particularly in the air.
In 1981 he had a brilliant debut season, winning Mark of the Year for a huge chest mark in a pack up forward against Geelong at Princes Park.
Later that year, against the same team, Bosustow was playing for Carlton in a semifinal at Waverley Park when he produced what would turn out to be Goal of the Year.
The Blues got the ball in the centre, with Bruce Doull kicking to Jim Buckley, who sent it long to a contest in the left forward pocket.
The ball spilled over the back and Geelong defender Ian Nankervis took the ball near the boundary and looked to clear.
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But a committed Bosustow flung himself at the ball and smothered the kick, before leaping to his feet, grabbing the ball, stepping to his right and snapping over his shoulder from a narrow angle, sending Blues fans wild and earning a big hug from his teammate Wayne Johnston.
Bosustow and the Blues went on to beat Collingwood in the grand final, before backing up the following year and defeating Richmond in the decider.
Bosustow’s style of play made him a fan favourite, but in the end he returned to Perth for family reasons at the end of 1983.
He would play several more seasons for the Perth Demons in the WAFL, and was named in the club’s Team of the Century and in 2017 he was inducted into the West Australian Football Hall of Fame.
Bosustow leaves behind his wife Shelley, son Brent and daughter Brooke.
