AFL commentary icon Dennis Cometti farewelled at state memorial service in Perth

A host of high-profile Australians have gathered at Perth Stadium to pay tribute to one of the nation's most well-known sports broadcasters, Dennis Cometti.

Cometti died in March aged 76 after a legendary career in sports commentary spanning more than 50 years.

Politicians, footballers and many of Cometti's former media colleagues were among those to join his family at the ground where he called his last game of football, the 2021 AFL Grand Final between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs.

Bruce McAvaney, who called alongside Cometti for much of his time at Channel Seven, said Cometti's impact was far-reaching throughout Australian society.

"How many times have I been asked about Dennis, or someone's grabbed me in the street in the last eight weeks and wanted to talk to me about him," McAvaney said.

"The commentator, the bloke, what was he like, but they always wanted to tell me what he did for them.

WA Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas, a long-time media colleague of Cometti, said many people had asked him what Cometti would have made of such an event being held in his honour.

"He would've wanted us all to play it down and be very low key, and then he would've called me in and said 'Bas, make sure they make a fuss'," Mr Zempilas said.

'A true WA legend'

In his speech, the Premier Roger Cook said no words could do justice to Cometti's greatness in his field.

"How does one begin to honour, with words, one of the greatest orators in Australian history?" Mr Cook said.

"It doesn't matter whether you watch sport or not, the sounds of Dennis Cometti in the background, or at full blast, evoke a sense of comfort and familiarity that we all share.

"Over the five decades of broadcasting, it feels like we all had a chance to get to know him. He enriched the lives of Australians.

"Above all, he was an exemplary Western Australian. A true WA legend."

'Humble, genuine'

Former West Perth Captain Les Fong spoke of his memories playing under Cometti when he was Falcons Coach.

"Many supporters at the time knew Dennis mainly from his radio and television work, but those of us close to the game knew just how much football knowledge and experience he had with him," he said.

"What stood out most about Dennis as a coach was his understanding of the game, and more importantly of people.

"He had played at the highest level so he understood what was needed, and what they went through.

"He had empathy, wisdom, an ability to earn respect, while always showing it in return.

"He was humble, genuine and never wanted to speak ill of others."

Famous one-liners

The crowd at the memorial was shown a video of Cometti reflecting on his commentary career, and his famous one-liners, dubbed "Cometti-isms".

"I don't remember too many of them to be honest, so I would say they're a lot better with vision," Cometti said in the video.

"They did come naturally I think in the beginning, I used to watch a lot of tape, and as a result if you're not barracking for somebody, footy can be very funny.

"As a result of putting them in though, I created some expectations, so then it became a problem.

"Thank God for the internet, it arrived about the same time so plagiarism was alive and well."

Olympic champion swimmer Susie O'Neill was one of a number who paid tribute in a video montage played at the memorial.

"One of the reasons that our generation was so popular as swimmers was because we had such good commentators, they made it sound so exciting," she said.

"Especially the Atlanta call for me, it's just in my head when I think of my 200 [metre butterfly] I think of his lines that he said during that swim and I think it just makes it so much more exciting than the actual swimming race."

Born in Geraldton in 1949, Cometti was a talented footballer who played for and coached West Perth in the WAFL.

He called a range of sporting events including Test cricket for the ABC and a number of iconic moments across three Summer Olympic Games, but he was best known for his AFL broadcasting on television from 1986.

Until his retirement in 2016, he was the only TV commentator whose career had spanned the entire duration of the national Australian rules football competition, and he became renowned for his deep and distinctive voice, and those iconic one-liners.

Within his profession he was known for his dedication to his preparation, spending up to 20 hours per week watching game footage, and bringing with him a suitcase full of research files into the commentary box.

The Western Bulldogs' drought-breaking premiership in 2016 was his final game on TV, and he retired from commentary completely five years later after calling Melbourne's 2021 grand final win in Perth on radio.

He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2019 and the Australian Football Hall of Fame a year later.

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