Vale Dennis Cometti 1949-2026: The GOAT

0:00Michael Jackson, it's Triple M. Robby and Carly on a Thursday, now really sad day yesterday, Carly, with the passing of commentary legend, Dennis Committee. Now, he was a titan of our industry. He was at Triple M for years. He was with Channel 7. He's known throughout the country. And he's one of those guys, or was one of those guys that was just universally liked. He was a selfless sort of guy. You'd see him in the hallway. He'd always remember your name. He was just a really good dude. And I don't know, you see a lot of these guys who are big in media and they've got egos and they won't help you. And you don't get to really have much to do with them. But I know Dennis was a mentor to many. And just to see the outpouring of emotion for him, I think it's really fitting. And I'm really happy that there is so much love that's been spread for him over the last 24 hours

1:03because he was a legend. I know you're not a big, footy watcher and everything, Carly. But in 2021, there was a really nice moment that I wanted to share with you. Locky Reed, who you went on the show yesterday, ironically. And Locky, who's amazing with basketball and everything, he's also a footy commentator. And he loved Dennis. Dennis was a mentor to him. And one thing that was amazing is that the guys here in WA don't generally get the opportunities that the guys over east do like commentating grand finals and stuff like that. So in 2021, when we had the grand final here for COVID, it was a big opportunity for Locky to be able to call the grand final, which is huge for him. Dennis was along as well. And I just love this moment at the end of the game where Dennis could have taken all the glory, but he actually gave Locky this amazing opportunity. So just have a listen to this audio and you'll see what I mean. It runs across towards the front of goal.

2:04Neil Bullins got the football, calling for it, finally, my name is Brilliant. Get these balance and just sum a soldier that would be tackler. It goes down towards half forward. There's a minute 30 to go. And Locky, this is your time. Away you go. You bring it home. Come on, Locky. Last time, Dan. Hang on, wait, it's a moment. Don't fight. All right, it's your goal. No. I'm not going. So that was Dennis' last ever game after however many years of commentating. And he was just like, no, this is your moment. I just thought that was so selfless and amazing. And you made a great point, Robbie, because obviously a few people around this building yourself included were lucky enough to work with him. And the one thing that stands out for me that I'm hearing from everyone is that he made space for everyone. He worked in an industry where there was only a handful of jobs, and it's quite competitive. And the fact that he not only spent time to impart his knowledge on other people, but to mentor them and then to create spaces and moments

3:06for them to shine as well, that is just such a rare thing in the media industry. And I just think that that is such a special quality that isn't just about what he did, but who he was. And it's just been so amazing to hear those kind of stories. And it just seems like he's leaving this huge legacy in his career, but his impact as a person is what people are really talking about. And that's the measure of the man really, isn't it? What they say about you after you go on. And when it's things like what people are saying about Dennis, you just know he was a great guy. And I just want to leave you with this, because it's such a superficial little thing. But to me, it just meant so much. So when I was a kid, I was a big 40 fan, right? And so I'd always watch 40. I'd always hear Dennis and Bruce doing their thing and they were amazing. Never ever, in my wildest dreams, did I ever think that I would meet the guy, let alone have the opportunity to work alongside him.

4:07Kind of like he was way above me, but we had him weekly for two years on the show I was working on at the time. And we used to see him in the halls of channel seven all the time. And I still remember the first time that I found out we were working with him. Our boss said, yeah, you've got a message, Dennis, and you've got to organize a time in that. And I was so nervous. I'm like, what, message, Dennis? Dennis committing. And so I messaged him. I have his phone number. Yeah, I know, I have his phone number. But that's what happened, Carly. So I messaged him and he texted me back. And you know, when it says, I messaged, Dennis committee. Yeah. So I was like screenshot of that. And I still have it to this day. This picture of Dennis committee messaging me because I thought it was such a big moment at the time. So did you get an emoji out of him? Not an emoji to be seen. It was very short response, but no, it was brilliant. So I loved Dennis. And we are going to just pay a bit of a package now of some of his greatest moments because he's the best to ever do it.

5:09He's the goat. G'day, Dennis, committee, valet.