Peter Lori Sumich (born 11 January 1968) is a formerAustralian rules footballer who representedWest Coast in theAustralian Football League (AFL) andSouth Fremantle in theWest Australian Football League (WAFL) during the 1980s and 1990s.

Sumich made his debut for South Fremantle in 1986, having also playedcricket for theAustralian national under-19 team. After leading the club's goalkickingin 1988, Sumich was selected with a pre-draft selection by theWest Coast Eagles prior to the1988 National Draft. He made his debut for West Coast the following season.He established himself as the team's first-choicefull-forward, leading thegoalkicking for six consecutive seasons between 1989 and 1994. Sumich played in West Coast's1992 and1994 premiership sides, before retiring from AFL football at the end of the 1997 season. In 1998, he was co-captain of South Fremantle, and led the club's goalkicking in what was his final year of playing football. During this time, Sumich also representedWestern Australia in fiveState of Origin andinterstate matches.

After his retirement from playing, Sumich coached South Fremantle between2000and 2001, before signing as an assistant coach at West Coast, where he served in that role from 2002 to 2011, before joining Fremantle as an assistant coach. In total, he kicked 514 goals, a club record, from 150 games for West Coast, leading the club's goalkicking on a record seven occasions. After kicking 111 goals during the1991 season, Sumich became the first Eagles player, and the first left-footer, to kick more than 100 goals in a season.

Originally playing for the Cockburn Junior Football Club, Sumich represented the Western Australia Under-18 team which won the 1985Teal Cup. He made his debut forSouth Fremantle in 1986.^[1] As well as playing football, Sumich was also a noted under-age cricketer, playing threeTests and threeOne Day Internationals for theAustralia Under-19 cricket team in 1987 as aleft-arm orthodox spinner.^[2] Sumich also attended theWestern Australian Institute of Sport.^[3]

Sumich was selected by theWest Coast Eagles with a pre-draft selection before the1988 National Draft. He made his debut for the club in round one of the1989 VFL season againstEssendon, recording 10 disposals. After kicking one goal in the first three games, Sumich was dropped back to South Fremantle, but returned in round seven, and played each of the remaining games for West Coast. He finished with 45 goals for the season to be the club'sleading goalkicker, which included four hauls of more than five goals. AgainstFootscray in round 12 he kicked eight goals, setting a record for themost goals kicked in a match by a West Coast player.^[4]

In 1991, Sumich kicked 111 goals to finish second in theColeman Medal toTony Lockett, establishing records as the only West Coast Eagles player to kick more than 100 goals in a season and becoming the first left-footer to kick more than 100 goals. His total of 89behinds for the season is also a VFL/AFL record.^[5] Against Footscray in round 13 he kicked 13.3, surpassing his previous record for most goals in a game (later topped byScott Cummings in 2000 with 14.1).^[6] He also kicked five goals in West Coast'sGrand Final loss toHawthorn. Sumich was a member of West Coast's1992 and1994 premiership victories overGeelong, kicking six goals in the 1992 Grand Final and two goals in the 1994 Grand Final. In Round 18 of the1996 AFL season, Sumich kicked six goals in a stirring six-point victory overEssendon, but was reported by umpireGreg Scroop for allegedly strikingDamien Hardwick, and was suspended for two matches.^[7]

Sumich finished his careerin 1997 as West Coast'sall-time leading goalkicker, kicking 514 goals from 150 games at an average of 3.43 goals per game. He also holds the record for the most goals kicked at theWACA Ground – 101 goals from 29 games.^[8]

Sumich had been playing on-and-off for South Fremantle since he was recruited by West Coast, mainly when recovering from injury or out of form, but returned to the club full-timein 1998, serving as co-captain withPeter Worsfold. He played 17 games for the club in 1998, kicking 25 goals to finish as the club's leading goalkicker, and retired at the end of the season.^[9]

Sumich served as coach of South Fremantle in 2000 and 2001, taking his club to agrand final in 2001, which the club lost toEast Perth. He accepted a role as an assistant coach at the West Coast Eagles when his premiership teammateJohn Worsfold was appointed senior coach in 2002. Sumich served in this position for ten years until 2011, which included the club's2006 premiership victory. TheFremantle Football Club announced in October 2011 that Sumich would be joining the club as an assistant coach underRoss Lyon.^[10][11][12] He left Fremantle at the end of the 2016 season.^[13]

^[14]

• Peter Sumich's playing statistics from AFL Tables
• Peter Sumich at AustralianFootball.com
• Peter Sumich's WAFL playing statistics at WAFLFootyFacts.net
• Fremantle Football Club coaching profile

• 1968 births
• Living people
• Australian people of Croatian descent
• Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia
• South Fremantle Football Club coaches
• South Fremantle Football Club players
• West Coast Eagles players
• West Coast Eagles premiership players
• West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees
• Western Australian Institute of Sport alumni
• Western Australian State of Origin players
• VFL/AFL premiership players

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