Bye-bye to our Bobby

ERIN PEARSON
Mourners will gather in Geelong’s St Mary’s Basilica on Tuesday at a public funeral for Geelong Football Club legend Bob Davis.
Geelong and Carlton players will also observe a minute’s silence for Davis before their clash at Etihad Stadium this Friday night.
Davis died this week aged 82.
Four flags flew at half-mast at Skilled Stadium this week as the country mourned the football legend.
The man known as ‘Woofer’ played 189 VFL games for the Cats between 1948 and 1958 and coached Geelong to its 1963 premiership.
Premier Ted Ballieu was keeping open the option of a state funeral when the Independent went to press on Wednesday.
Geelong Football Club’s Kevin Diggerson said Davis was an “outstanding contributor” to the club as a player, coach and media commentator.
“His ability to connect with people on all levels made him the person that we all came to love,” Mr Diggerson said.
“Bob will be deeply missed by all those who loved him and indeed by all those that have been fortunate enough to know him or meet him.”
The AFL recognised Davis’s brilliance as a player when it inducted him into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
AFL chief executive officer Andrew Demetriou said Davis was a key foundation in building the game.
“Perhaps his greatest contribution of all was to take our game into loungerooms every weekend as television developed in this country and forged a powerful bond between our players and our fans.”
Geelong Mayor John Mitchell said Davis embodied “everything good and admirable” about the city.
“He was the embodiment of a local sporting hero who touched the lives of ordinary people far and wide in all corners of Australia,” he said.
“He was a model for all young people to follow and yet he was as modest about his abilities as anyone you would ever meet.”
The funeral is scheduled for 2pm.