Dennis Cometti has been remembered for his genius wit, professionalism, kindness and his questionable fashion choices during a moving State Memorial Service for the legendary broadcaster.
Long-time colleague Bruce McAvaney was among the guest speakers in Perth as football fans got to say goodbye to the golden voice of Australian Rules football.
Cometti, whose career spanned five decades, died at the age of 76 in March.
Fittingly, Monday’s memorial was held at Optus Stadium, where the media centre was named in Cometti’s honour.
Former colleague Mark Readings fought back tears as he stood on stage preparing to begin the afternoon’s proceedings.
Basil Zempilas, former West Perth captain Les Fong and WA Premier Roger Cook also spoke.
But it was left to McAvaney to finish proceedings on an afternoon where the anecdotes flowed freely.
‘I reckon he is in the make-up chair right now thinking, ‘Yeah, the fuss is pretty good’,’ McAvaney quipped about his good friend.
Cometti, who died in March, was remembered during the memorial on Monday at Optus Stadium for his genius wit, professionalism, kindness and his questionable fashion choices
‘He inspired us. And every time someone’s spoken to me about Dennis, they’ve had that reflective smile.
‘It is the measure of what he’s given so many Australians over the years, and that enduring gift does elevate him beyond the confines of a heaving football stadium or a television set.
‘He has certainly entered our vernacular.’
McAvaney marvelled at Cometti’s brilliance to match the rhythm of the moment.
And of course, there were the Cometti-isms.
‘Often during a piece of commentary magic from Cometti, he would pivot slightly to the right and look me in the eye, just to give me that look, so that I knew that he knew how damn good that was,’ McAvaney said.
In front of Cometti’s wife Velia, his daughter Ricki and son Mark, there were plenty of amusing and insightful stories about the great man.
Like the time Cometti’s mother was left upset when he left his ‘secure’ post office job to take up a role as a DJ at 6KY.
Monday’s memorial was held at Optus Stadium, where the media centre was named in Cometti’s honour
Another memorable Cometti story was his iconic call of Kieren Perkins winning gold from lane eight in the 1500m final at the 1996 Olympics.
‘This is rare gold, the best type of gold,’ Cometti said during his famous call.
Afterwards, Cometti went up to Perkins, looked him in the eye and said, ‘Kieren, I couldn’t have done it without you’.
Cometti’s quick wit and dulcet tones were a feature of his commentary and made him a household name.
‘Cometti-isms’ featured prominently during Monday’s memorial.
His ‘like a cork in the ocean, over his head’ call to describe Peter Wilson’s snap-over-the-head goal in the 1992 grand final is part of West Coast folklore.
‘Centimetre perfect’ was echoed by schoolkids all over the country.
And who could forget the ‘he came up behind him like a librarian, he never heard him’ to describe Heath Shaw’s desperate goal-line smother to deny Nick Riewoldt in the 2010 grand final replay.
But before that, Cometti was a player at WAFL club West Perth, and he later coached the Falcons for three seasons.
He established himself as the voice of the AFL through his five-decade long career
Ex-West Perth captain Les Fong remembered his former coach for his empathy, wisdom, and understanding of the game.
‘And of course, Dennis had his style,’ Fong said.
‘He introduced fashion no coach before and since quite matched – the famous vest.
‘Among the player group, there was always curiosity about what the coach would be wearing that day.’
Cook lauded Cometti as one of the most quoted Western Australians of all time, describing him as the Shakespeare of the AFL community.
And it was fitting McAvaney, who shared the microphone with Cometti for almost 450 matches, had the final word at Monday’s memorial.
‘His legacy is permanent. He will always be with us. That’ll do. Thank you.’
