{"id":520973,"date":"2026-03-05T20:10:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T20:10:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/520973\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T20:10:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T20:10:31","slug":"dennis-cometti-hamish-mclachlan-pays-tribute-to-broadcast-legend-ahead-of-afl-season-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/520973\/","title":{"rendered":"Dennis Cometti: Hamish McLachlan pays tribute to broadcast legend ahead of AFL season opener"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"css-1ix6vwn-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">Hamish McLachlan has paid tribute to Dennis Cometti\u2019s \u201cenormous legacy\u201d after the broadcast legend passed away on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ix6vwn-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">The AFL and sporting worlds were plunged into mourning at the news of the West Australian\u2019s death at the age of 76 on the eve of the new AFL season after a short battle with illness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ix6vwn-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">And ahead of the season-opening clash between Sydney and Carlton at the SCG on Thursday evening, McLachlan voiced a heartfelt tribute on Channel 7.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ix6vwn-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">LEAVE YOUR TRIBUTES FOR DENNIS COMETTI IN THE COMMENTS<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ix6vwn-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">\u201cHe\u2019s the broadcaster we all fell in love with,\u201d he said as images of Cometti played.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ix6vwn-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">\u201cThe players loved being called by him, the fans delighted in hearing his voice, he was a master of his craft.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ix6vwn-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">\u201cA gifted storyteller with dulcet tones, and he made moments so big, and some of them became iconic because he was there. So many lines perfectly scripted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ix6vwn-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">\u201cHe was loved by so many and has left an enormous legacy. Den, rest in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ix6vwn-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">An official tribute is set to be played during the halftime break with a three-minute video presentation while both teams sported black armbands.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/40fcd1130c8fb2e8fbc9e1cb06b534bf9aefd657.jpg\" alt=\"Media personality Dennis Cometti in the Seven West Studios.\" class=\"css-16r7l45-StyledImage en5ut4d0\"\/>Camera IconMedia personality Dennis Cometti in the Seven West Studios. Credit: Jackson Flindell\/The West Australian<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ix6vwn-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">Renowned as arguably Australian football\u2019s pre-eminent caller, Cometti was the voice of the AFL for three decades, spearheading Seven\u2019s coverage until his retirement at the end of 2016.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ix6vwn-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">The man who coined the phrase \u2018centimetre perfect\u2019 among many other brilliant one-liners and unforgettable quips was revered by fans, players and colleagues alike, with his distinctive tones forming the soundtrack for many iconic moments in Australian sport.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ix6vwn-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">He was behind the microphone for West Coast\u2019s maiden premiership triumph in 1992, notable for describing Peter Wilson\u2019s \u201clike a cork in the ocean\u201d goal kicked over his head.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1ix6vwn-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">He called Kieren Perkins\u2019 win from Lane 8 at the 1996 Atlanta Games among three Olympics, and also commented on Test cricket, basketball and WAFL in his distinguished career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hamish McLachlan has paid tribute to Dennis Cometti\u2019s \u201cenormous legacy\u201d after the broadcast legend passed away on Wednesday.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":520974,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,588,85],"class_list":["post-520973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sport","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}