"Centimetre perfect": Tributes flow for the late Dennis Cometti

For generations his voice laid the soundtrack to Australian sports biggest moments.

And he was centimetre perfect.

Dennis Cometti has died after battling illness. He was 76.

As a player, Cometti featured 40 times for West Perth in the WAFL, playing under the great Polly Farmer, before returning to coach the club. Cometti made the senior list at Footscray, but never played a VFL game.

But it was over half a century in broadcasting that he truly made his name.

Starting as a radio announcer in Perth in 1968, while he was still playing, Cometti rose to become one of Australia’s best-known and respected TV and radio broadcasters.

A trademark smooth delivery, deep knowledge, quick wit and humorous play on words made him a favourite in lounge rooms across the country.

There was that “cork in the ocean” and his “as lonely as a taxi driver in Meekatharra” lines. And who could forget Tony Liberatore entering a pack “optimistically, but came out misty optically”?

He called the AFL from its beginning in 1990, but also covered cricket while presenting the sports news bulletins in Perth on Seven and Nine. Cometti also covered three Olympics for Seven in Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000), where he called some of the most memorable swimming gold medals in Australian history.

As Kieren Perkins sensationally touched the wall first in the men’s 1500m in Atlanta, Cometti beamed: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is gold, the rarest form of gold.”

Yet it was his partnership with Bruce McAvaney at AFL stadiums across the country that enshrined his legacy. The pair called some 450 games side by side.

His final game was the 2016 Grand Final – the 16th decider of his career - in which the Western Bulldogs broke a 62-year premiership drought.

Cometti’s name will endure as a member of the Sport Australia and AFL Halls of Fame. He was made a member of the Order of Australia in 2019 and was bestowed countless other honours.

Sam Edmund

It’s a shock. Having said that, it’s the final completion of what we had thought was going to happen. Dennis hasn’t been in great health in recent times, but when it actually happens, it’s still a shock. I’m still reeling from the news.

Why he was as good as he was – several things go into making a great caller, and Dennis at the top of the tree. One, the voice. Two, the understanding of the game. Three, timing. Four, the wit.

Dennis would often say, the best adlibbed lines are well rehearsed, and he did live by that. But his wit was overriding that as well. Dennis would have pages and pages of information about the most obscure mention of something.

It might be… Adam White’s dog gave birth to eight puppies yesterday, and he’d write that down! He’d put it in the reems and reems of literature he would have at his disposal, calling the game. If Adam White was lining up for a goal and there was a pause of time, he’d throw in that little bit of knowledge. If it didn’t get used, and it no longer became current, he wouldn’t use it the next week. He would find something else!

He was such an exhaustive preparer. On top of that, the wit! I remember one time we were calling a game, and it’s a lesser known one of Dennis’ calls, but we were calling a Richmond game, and Darren Gaspar had gone from Sydney to Richmond, and it was a close game – one of those moments where a point was going to make it two scores for the opposition to win. Darren Gaspar had a shot at goal, and there was no looking down at the notes, but he had the shot at goal and he hit the post, which happens maybe two to three times a game. Dennis, with his voice, says, ‘Gaspar the friendly post!’

I just thought, to put those aspects together, the three things; the name Gaspar, the friendly post, and also the need of that point at that time… that’s the wit that he had. He was just brilliant. If you gave him time to prepare, he gave you brilliance, and if you put him on the spot, he delivered with brilliance as well.

The absolute nicest man. A generous man – not often you say it about anyone in the football industry, but a beautiful man.

I feel privileged that I’ve not only been able to call him a friend, but been able to call him a confidant and somebody who has taken the time to help me in my career. What a wonderful man.

Dermott Brereton

What a great man. When you sum up Dennis… nobody was like Dennis. He was so likeable, he had time for everybody. He was well prepared – all of his one-liners he’s often say to you before the broadcast would start.

He’d go, ‘what I want you to do is lead me into this, and let me take it from there’. All of his good lines were pre-rehearsed and that’s why they were delivered so well.

When we used to go to Perth to do the footy – back in those days, you travelled to every game, and you’re on the road pretty much all footy season. When we stayed in Perth, he wouldn’t let me stay at the hotel, I had to stay at his place.

He had this affinity with Melbourne, he loved big Bob Johnson, and I was lucky enough ot get him a Bob Johnson photograph and he cherished it. I know how much it meant to him. He was very kind to me, and he was very kind to everyone.

I don’t remember him ever bagging a player out. He would never get personal. The only way I could really describe him is – if someone pulled out of a contest he’d say, ‘oh, I think if you look back at that replay, he wouldn’t really like that!’ That was his way of saying, you don’t take short steps. He just couldn’t be unkind.

That’s who he was. Gee, he was just a beautiful man. To work with he and Bruce – Bruce was the host, but Dennis was the star.

Dennis would paint the picture eloquently, he did it with fun, he did it with a laugh in his voice, he knew what was happening all the time. A lot of commentators do that, but Dennis had a way of delivering that better than most.

He just had the most beautiful voice. When he went deep… that race of Thorpe versus Hall – that’s him right at his very highest. He was calm, he was a bit nervy actually, calling the big games. He got excited about the big games, but he was a man of routine.

He was just a normal bloke, but he had a gift of being able to call the footy.

David Schwarz

Every fan of a certain age has their own catchphrase that jumps straight to the tongue, whether it’s ’cork in the ocean’, ‘centimetre perfect’ or Buddy sprinting down the wing at the MCG.

We are privileged that so much of his greatest work calling our biggest games is easily available for all fans, and thank you, Dennis, for illuminating footy and your contribution across the country to bring that excitement into homes.

Andrew Dillon

He always had time for every single person. He was diligent about his preparation; he used to read the sport on Channel Seven over here (in Perth) for a long time and then commentate. He was almost too good to ask for his time, but when you did, he was always very wiling to give it.

He messaged me when I was shown the door by Channel 10 – he was one of the first to reach out and I was very grateful. Always said hello and very humble. Never wanted to be talked about how good he was, he was always very understated.

In 2021, I was given the honour and had been for several years, to host the WA Football Hall of Fame. I believe it was September 21, and he came up on the stage; I’ve never been so nervous! I’ve never been so nervous than interviewing Dennis Cometti.

To sit on stage and chat about his journey was mind-numbingly nerve-wrecking, mind-numbingly memorable, and I’ll take that with me forever. He was nervous, he made me more nervous, because he hated talking about himself! If they great man was nervous, how do you reckon I was going? Just so good, so smooth.

He made footballers and sportsmen great through his words, and I think we are very lucky to live in the era of such sporting broadcasting royalty with himself and Bruce.

If our Eagles weren’t having a big year, or our Dockers weren’t great, or our sporting scene wasn’t great, we had Dennis. We had the voice of Dennis. It didn’t matter.

I think he enjoyed not doing Eagles and Dockers games, because he felt that we had him as our pseudo number one ticket holder for those two teams. We had Dennis, we had a WA flavour in those Grand Finals.

He’s a great of WA. I know we’ve had some great footballers, some great names at the top level of any of our sport, but he is in that bracket. If you talk about great West Australian sporting names, he is in those conversations.

I don’t want to put a number on it, but he is in the conversation. Beautiful voice, gentle man, never any drama, just went about his business, but boy, you felt like he was in your loungeroom. You felt like you were right there.

Tim Gossage