Slade Brockman (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise, with great sadness, to acknowledge the passing of one of the absolute greats of sports commentary in this country, Dennis Cometti. Dennis Cometti was, particularly for Western Australians, the voice of football—not for just a year or two, but for decade after decade. He was a boy from the bush, and that shone through in his sense of humour. He was a pretty good footballer, who then became a pretty good coach, who then became the greatest AFL commentator of all time. No-one will ever forget 'centimetre perfect', his catch cry when a pass was delivered directly into the hands, usually, of a marking forward.

As a Western Australian and as a West Coast Eagles fan, the piece of commentary that stands out in my mind will always be, 'Bobbing like a cork in the ocean, over his head—oh, my word!' That, of course, was the goal from Peter Wilson in the inaugural West Coast Eagles win in the 1992 grand final. There are many ways of having a good life, but giving so much pleasure to so many for so long is surely one of them. To his family, to his friends and especially to his many, many fans in Western Australia, we say: 'Vale, Dennis Cometti.'