It was just a coincidence, of course, that the two most obvious contenders to one day take Roger Cook’s job each called their own press conference within an hour of his first day of personal leave this week.

But the leadership ambitions of Rita Saffioti and Amber-Jade Sanderson have been a hot topic of debate all year, inside and outside the WA Labor caucus.

While the other side got its leadership fight out the way post-election, Labor’s is likely a long way off.

Make no mistake, though, the jostling for prime position is underway — just in case.

Both sides of politics have united behind their leaders, but recent debate in Parliament has proven that those in line behind both Roger Cook and Basil Zempilas still have one eye on the future.

Rita Saffioti has led that charge, dubbing Oppo

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