A host of broadcasters, athletes and key figures in the sporting world turned out yesterday to Dennis Cometti’s final farewell, a graceful memorial held at Optus Stadium in remembrance of the voice of football and so much more.

For over 50 years his voice adorned so many sports from AFL, to cricket on the ABC and the Olympics with that iconic Kieren Perkins call – “This is rare gold. The best kind of gold.”

The broadcaster immortalized champions and put athletes on the map, giving fans something special to remember about their favourite sporting moments.

Someone who had the pleasure of working with Cometti was Basil Zempilas, and he joined Sports Breakfast this morning to reflect on the life that was Dennis Cometti’s.

“Lane 8 wasn’t expected to win, and it’s a great Australian story. When you look at footy matches, they’re not great Australian stories, they’re just great footy matches,” he said.

“But the Perkins story lives alone as a moment because of what it all represents. You never write off a champion, and you’re never beaten, you can win from anywhere – great Australia traits.”

The rise of Cometti’s career in the commentary box coincided with West Coast’s introduction to what was then the VFL, giving Eagles fans something special to go alongside their first grand final win in 1992.

Being the first time the premiership cup left Victoria and came west, having a local voice gracing the game was something that made that win all the more significant.

“The reason we felt so connected to Den was, because he was one of ours, but he called so many of those big West Australian moments.”

“When the first time the premiership cup left Victoria, it came to the west, it was the West Coast Eagles who won it and it’s Dennis’ voice that is on that call.

“So for a hundred years, for a thousand years, when Eagles fans in the future go, ‘where was our first premiership? Who won it? How did we win it?’, then they play the tape, ‘Who’s that voice?’, that’s the great Dennis Cometti. I think that means he and those moments will live on forever together.”

He will be forever remembered for his fantastic anecdotes, and test cricket commentary was somewhere he could flourish – the sport giving him ample time to let his iconic stories sit with fans and let them breathe before the next ball was bowled.

“He called with [Alan] McGilvray as a 23-year old, he was taken by Kerry Packer to call World Series cricket on the radio, and he did that all alongside Richie Benaud.”

“All of the things with cricket commentary, if you think about it, suited Dennis’ style because he had so many anecdote stories and a wonderful way about it, and there was more time in cricket to let those breathe.”

At the centre of it all was an unwavering sense of duty, and his love for Western Australia was steadfast.

One iconic story Zempilas recalled was a promise he made to Peter Vlahos in 1989, saying wanted to call the state soccer league grand final.

Cometti called the 1989 Grand Final between Geelong and Hawthorne – one remembered by all fans of football with Gary Ablett Snr kicking nine goals and six points the margin at the final siren.

Unaware the state soccer grand final was the next day in WA, Cometti didn’t think twice about honouring his promise to Vlahos, and that sense of duty saw him call the Floreat-Spearwood final as if it were in front of 100,000 at the ‘G.

“Den called the biggest game of the decade in front of 100,000 people and right around Australia on live TV, and then the next day was Spearwood Dalmatinac in front of 1,100 people calling the local soccer league grand final to honour a commitment he’d made earlier that year.”

“He said to me, ‘both games were as important as each other.'”

While he was a player and a coach for West Perth, it will be his profound commentary he will always be remembered for, but his obligation to add poise and pulse to the sporting world is one that will live on forever.

IMAGE: Channel 7