It was his most famous catchphrase and no tribute to Bob Davis would have been complete without it.

Davis, a member of the AFL Hall of Fame, died on Monday aged 82. He was a two-time premiership player and coached the Cats to a flag in 1963.

On Friday night, the Cats players were doing it for Davis, nicknamed the "Geelong Flyer".

More than 46,000 fans at Etihad Stadium were shown a video tribute to Davis and the Geelong and Carlton AFL teams observed a minute's silence.

The Cat wore black armbands and ran through a banner which said: "Let's make tonight fair dinkum unbelievable".

It was a line which helped make Davis famous as a TV football personality and raconteur on the Seven Network's League Teams and World of Sport in the 1970s and 80s.

A father figure to generations of Cats players, Davis never lost sight of the fact that the game was meant to be a bit of fun.

He famously wore sunglasses and a large grin at the 1963 grand final.

Davis encouraged a TV clown, Happy Hammond, to run out with the team for the 1963 grand final.

The former All-Australia captain used to joke about how he became the last of the "non-thinking" coaches.

Mark Thompson's Geelong side ended a 44-year drought in 2007 and two years later it was fitting that Davis handed the cup to skipper Tom Harley when the Cats triumphed again.

Davis will be farewelled at a funeral service at Geelong's St Mary of the Angels Basilica on Tuesday.

The family turned down a state funeral, preferring to keep the service in his home town.

The reception for the video tribute to Davis on Friday night was polite, with ripples of applause breaking out across the stadium.

The cheers were louder for the home side Carlton when they ran out onto the ground.

However the stories will be flowing thick and fast from current and former players on Tuesday in Geelong, where a legend of the game will be put to rest in an outpouring of emotion for a true gentleman who loved football, and football loved him.

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