THE AFL has announced that a minute's silence will be observed before this Friday's match between Geelong and Carlton at Etihad Stadium as a mark of respect to Bob Davis.
Davis, 82, passed away this week after a recent battle with illness. He was a Geelong premiership player and coach, and an inaugural member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
A video tribute to Davis prepared by AFL Media will also be screened before the match and Geelong players will wear black armbands.
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said it would be a fitting tribute to someone who made a lasting impact on the game as a player, coach and media personality.
"As well as players, coaches and officials, I'm sure all football supporters attending the game on Friday will remember Bob and his family and his wonderful contribution to Australian football," Demetriou said.
He said the game was "eternally grateful" for his contribution and he would be remembered for changing the way football was covered in the media.
"On behalf of everyone involved with our great game, we're all saddened by the passing of Bob Davis," Demetriou said.
"Beside his contribution on the field - he was a remarkable player and a great coach - those of us, and I include myself in that, who grew up with Bobby, Lou Richards and Jack Dyer on World of Sport and League Teams, will forever be indebted to the contribution he made to the exposure of our game."
"The way that they brought football into the living room, with their humour and their candour, and their affection of the game, was just really very special. They were the pioneers for all the shows we see today.
"I think all of us who are involved in the game in some ways are just beneficiaries of the contribution Bobby made. He'll be sorely missed.
"Bob was very, very special. There's no doubt we've lost one of our greats. People know the contribution Bobby Davis made to our game and we are eternally grateful."
Demetriou said the AFL was yet to sit down to discuss a lasting tribute to Davis, who played 189 games for Geelong between 1948-58, and also coached the club in 1956, and from 1960-65.
"We haven't had a chance to sit down and talk about it. I think we're all a bit shocked. When I heard the news this morning that was my first reaction. In the calmness of day we'll sit down and have a chat about that," he said.
Demetriou said he first met Davis at the World of Sport studios, when he entered a handball competition as a North Melbourne player. He said Davis hadn't changed since and was a "quintessential Australian."
"I didn't know Bobby Davis, but he'd come up to you and have a chat, and he was so polite, and he'd be interested in the conversation," Demetriou recalled.
"You always thought he was just thoroughly decent. When I've caught up with him from time to time, he's continued on in exactly the same path.
"Bobby, in many ways, is quintessentially Australian. Everything that's good about our game, you think about Bobby Davis. (He was a) great character, decent person, (and) just extraordinarily polite to people, (and is) much loved."
