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Famed AFL commentator Dennis Cometti will be honoured with a state funeral at Western Australia’s Optus Stadium next month.
Cometti, who died last month aged 76, was remembered as one of the great sports callers whose deep voice and quick wit was put to use in coverage that extended beyond football to encompass cricket and even the Olympics.
A host of sports and media luminaries paid tribute to the West Australian last month, with many fondly recalling his memorable lines, including famous phrases like, “centimetre perfect”, and “bobbing like a cork in the ocean”.
WA Premier Roger Cook on Sunday announced a state memorial service for Cometti will be held at Optus Stadium’s River View Rooms from 2.30pm on Monday, May 4, with the public invited to pay tribute
“Dennis Cometti was a Western Australian legend, and one of the most widely respected voices in sport,” Cook said.
“It is a privilege to hold a state memorial service in his honour – and give Western Australians the opportunity to say goodbye.”
Cometti’s connections with West Australian football run deep. He played in the WAFL for West Perth, returning to coach the club in 1982, and called the West Coast Eagles’ first premiership in 1992.
The media centre at Optus Stadium is also named in Cometti’s honour.
Cometti was awarded an Order of Australia in 2019 and inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame in 2020, and joined the WA Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
His media career spanned nearly five decades and saw him cover AFL, Test cricket, and the Olympic games, where he memorably called Australia’s 4x100m freestyle relay gold in Sydney.
When his TV broadcasting career ended in 2016, he continued on Radio, and the final football game he called was the AFL Grand Final at Optus Stadium in Perth in 2021 for Triple M.
Reflecting last month after news of Cometti’s death, his long-time Seven colleague Bruce McAvaney said: “Perhaps the most impressive thing about Dennis is that through his calling, he made footballers famous. That’s a gift.”
“While Dennis and I started our careers as colleagues, we ended as friends, and I am so grateful for that,” McAveney said.
Members of the public who would like to attend the state memorial service are encouraged to register via the WA government’s dedicated website before April 21.
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