Carlton great Peter Bosustow is being remembered as a ‘unique character and a rare football talent’, as tributes pour in for the Blues icon.
The forward passed away in Perth on Monday after a long battle with cancer. He was 67.
‘The Buzz’ played only 65 games for the Blues after crossing the Nullarbor from Western Australia in 1981, but became a cult hero with his spectacular on-field acrobatics, playing a key role in the club’s 1981 and 1982 premierships.
He is one of the few players to claim both the Mark and Goal of the Year awards – and one of only two, alongside Michael Mitchell, to win the both in the same year.
Achieving the feat in 1981, he claimed the former with a monstrous leap above a pack at full forward, while his smother of a defensive kick before snapping truly from the pocket secured the latter.
Both came in separate games against Geelong, with Mark of the Year won in Round 18 at Princes Park and Goal of the Year in the Blues’ semi final win at the MCG.
After returning home to Western Australia at the end of 1983, he resumed his career with WAFL side Perth, finishing with 141 games and 379 goals to earn a place in the club’s Team of the Century, named in 1999.
But it is as a Blue where Bosustow will be most firmly remembered, with a host of former teammates and coaches paying tribute to the flamboyant great.
“Peter was an exceptional talent. I’ve coached some outstandingly talented players, but on his day Peter could do things on a footy field few could emulate – a case in point that smother, gather and goal,” legendary Blues coach David Parkin told the Carlton website.
“Peter had remarkable capacities in the air and on the ground, and was probably as exciting a player to watch as we ever had.
“What was really good was that despite the ups and downs of a coach/player relationship we remained really good mates and shared so much over the journey. 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 remained a passionate Blues supporter to the end, with SEN’s Sam Edmund reporting that he even celebrated Carlton’s upset win over Geelong on Sunday and ‘raised his fist at the final siren’ in the final stages of his illness.
“[He] will be remembered as a flamboyant human highlight reel who could walk the walk after talking the talk,” Edmund wrote on X.
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