how commentator Dennis Cometti became footy’s favourite voice
- Written by Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania
On the eve of the 2026 AFL season, players and fans are mourning the loss of legendary commentator Dennis Cometti.
Cometti passed away in Perth on Wednesday after battling Alzheimer’s disease and dementia for several years.
Known and loved for his warm character and quick-witted “Cometti-isms”, he was a giant of Australian sports broadcasting.
He was 76.
The player
While Cometti is best remembered for his unique commentary style, he was also a talented footballer in his younger years.
He played 38 games for West Perth (1967–71) in the West Australian Football League and also coached the team for three seasons (1982–84).
His best year was as a 19-year-old in 1968, when he kicked 63 goals under the coaching of the legendary Graham “Polly” Farmer.
He made the senior list at Footscray in 1971, but did not play a senior VFL game due to injuries and media commitments.
He returned to Perth and had success as captain-coach of Maddington in the South Suburban Murray Football League, winning a hat-trick of premierships from 1974–76 and being club best and fairest in 1975 and 1976.
He also coached Kelmscott to the premiership in the same competition in 1979.
But it was commentary where Cometti really thrived.
The commentator
Cometti’s media career began as a disc jockey on Perth radio station 6KY in 1968.
He covered a range of sports, including cricket, Australian rules football and swimming across five decades.
Cometti worked for the ABC from 1972 to 1985, calling more than 100 cricket Test matches and working alongside another legendary commentator, Alan McGilvray.
But he was best known for his work as a VFL/AFL commentator.
He moved to the Seven Network in 1986 to cover football. He was chief caller across Seven and Nine for the next three decades.
He called more than 1,000 matches on television and radio, including nearly 500 with his close friend Bruce McAvaney.
Their partnership from 2007 to 2016 became one of the most respected commentary pairings in Australian sport.
Separate to his AFL achievements, Cometti also played a key role in Seven’s broadcast of three Summer Olympic Games: Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.
He is best remembered for his commentary of iconic gold medals from swimmers such as Kieren Perkins, Susie O'Neill and Ian Thorpe.
When he retired from television commentary following the 2016 AFL grand final, he was the only network television commentator to have broadcast every AFL season.
He retired from all broadcasting after calling the the 2021 AFL grand final for Triple M radio.
Outside of the commentary box, Cometti was renowned for being warm, generous with his time, and for his extensive preparation for games.
The preparation, often done while flying from Perth to Melbourne for games, allowed him to be one of the game’s most knowledgeable commentators, even though he did not play the game at the highest level.
‘Cometti-isms’
In addition to his smooth voice and deep knowledge, Cometti was famous for his quick wit and timing, which resulted in many famous pieces of sports commentary.
These included many entertaining one-liners, often called “Commetti-isms”.
Well-known examples include:
Another fan favourite was his description of Bulldogs midfielder Tony Liberatore emerging from a pack with a cut above his eye: “Libba went into the pack optimistically, but came out misty, optically.”
The national treasure
Cometti has been described as a “national treasure”, “without peer”, the “voice of football” and the “benchmark” for all other commentators.
He was the AFL Media Association’s caller of the year a record 11 times.
Cometti was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2019 and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2019 and the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2020.
Continuing legacy
Cometti is considered one of Australia’s greatest ever commentators.
His voice was the soundtrack to some of Australia’s greatest triumphs and he will be deeply missed, but not forgotten.
The Media Centre at Optus Stadium in Perth was named in his honour when it opened in 2018.
His quotes have been compiled into several books and a documentary focused on his commentary career will premier later this year.
His iconic description of Heath Shaw coming up “like a librarian” to smother the ball in the 2010 Grand Final replay was featured as a Toyota Legendary Moment in 2025.
Additionally, the “Golden Cometti” award for outstanding commentary is awarded annually on popular AFL focused show “The Front Bar”.
A giant of sport and media
For more than five decades, Cometti shone in the often harshly criticised world of sports commentary with barely a bad word said about him.
His passing sparked an outpouring of grief among countless athletes, teams, leagues, media personalities and the general public.
Brownlow medallist Gerard Healy, a long-time colleague of Cometti’s, summed it up perfectly: “
Cometti was simply one of the best and a joy to work with. He turned good moments into great, and great moments into forever memorable.
He leaves a legacy that is unique and authentic.
Authors: Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania
