Australian Football

Peter Sumich began and ended his senior career with South Fremantle, but it is for the intervening nine seasons and 150 V/AFL games at West Coast that he is best remembered. Powerful overhead, and a prodigious if sometimes frustratingly wayward kick, full forward Sumich was a key component in the Eagles' all-conquering teams of the early 1990s. He topped their goal-kicking list every year from 1989 to 1994, and again in 1997, with 111 goals in 1991 his best tally.

Sumich booted five goals in the losing Grand Final of 1991 against Hawthorn, and six in the following year's play-off when the Eagles downed Geelong. He was also a member of the 1994 premiership team, kicking two goals as the Cats were again vanquished. He booted 514 goals in all for West Coast, and is the club's second highest aggregate goalkicker (after Josh Kennedy, who at the close of the 2019 season had 611 majors to his name). He also kicked 11 goals in five state of origin appearances for Western Australia.

Peter Sumich played his last AFL game in 1997, and the following year he resumed full time with South Fremantle, acting as the club's co-captain along with Peter Worsfold, and topping its goal-kicking list, albeit with the meagre tally of just 25 goals. He retired from football at the end of the 1998 season, but two years later he returned to the Bulldogs as non-playing coach. However, after a disappointing season, which yielded just eight wins from 18 games for seventh place on the ladder, he stood down in favour of John Northey. He has since served as an assistant coach at both West Coast and Fremantle.

Author - John Devaney