Adrian Barich: Vale Peter Bosustow, a player of exquisite ability and showmanship

West Australian

03-05-2025

When I was a teenager, I had a poster on my bedroom wall of just one footballer.
That man died this week
. He was a player of such exquisite ability and showmanship that I believe we may never see the likes of him again. Peter Bosustow was that special.
The Buzz, as he was lovingly known, was pinned up at my house right beside what might be the most popular poster of all time:
Farrah Fawcett's famous pin-up, which eventually landed in the Smithsonian.
That's how big Buzz was at my place. The man was a human highlight reel; if you need a reminder of his outstanding talent, just google 'Peter Bosustow 1978 WAFL grand final' and you'll see one of the greatest goals kicked in a season decider.
Many readers will know of it. It was a wet day at Subiaco and The Buzz nearly stole the match for the Perth Demons, booting a lazy seven goals.
He'd already won a flag with Perth in 1977 so of course the Victorians came calling and Pete moved east to join Carlton in 1981. And didn't he explode onto the footy scene with one of the VFL's biggest clubs? With his incredible self-confidence and swagger, he dazzled the Blues fans in his first season, winning mark and goal of the year, and playing in a premiership.
He only stayed for three years but had he hung around, he would likely be talked about at the Blues in the same breath as Alex Jesaulenko, who is an Australian Football Hall of Fame legend.
While he was in hospital, we inducted Buzz into the Perth Football Club Hall of Fame in a little ceremony at his bedside. As we all recounted our Buzz stories, I was proud to say that he was one of the reasons I joined Perth in 1984. He had rung my house in Canberra to convince me to move to the Demons.
I believe the first phone call was taken by my younger brother Justin, who thought it was a prank call and enquired who was really on the phone. Surely it wasn't the great man himself.
He was a sight to behold, The Buzz. Fellow footy great Robert Wiley remembers him turning up at Lathlain Park in the 1970s oozing such confidence that most of the senior players doubted he could deliver on his swagger. But they all soon learnt that The Buzz could talk the talk and walk the walk.
Some opponents tried to test him physically, perhaps thinking a bloke with super skills and strong opinions couldn't be tough. They tried to rough him up. But these hard nuts quickly found out that when The Buzz dropped his shoulder (if you could catch him), he was like 85kg of barbed wire.
I played with Peter and was behind him for the freak accident that almost ended his career at Perth. Angry at the way we were playing, The Buzz threw out his arm to bang a window which inexplicably broke on his wrist. The window had that safety glass that contained wire mesh, and he required extensive micro-surgery. Remarkably, he fought back from that but seeing him injured like that was akin to witnessing someone throw paint on a Picasso.
In an incredible twist, this human dynamo, who loved his family beyond everything, bowed out after watching his beloved Demons defeat arch rivals East Perth on TV, followed by catching the end of the match where Carlton had an upset victory over Geelong.
When his son Brent said, 'Dad, they've done it', Peter Bosustow gave a final fist pump.
After a nearly four-year battle with cancer and 61 rounds of chemo, this incredible showman passed away early on Monday morning in Perth, aged 67. But his memory lives on as a testament to the joy and excitement he brought to the game.
I'd say many of the Carlton fans in the west started following the club the day they saw The Buzz strut his stuff in the mighty number four. Just like he made the 17 jumper one of the greatest at the Perth Football Club.