Peter Sumich - Playing Career

Playing Career

Originally playing for the Cockburn Junior Football Club, Sumich represented the Western Australia Under-18 team which won the 1985 Teal Cup. He made his debut for South Fremantle in 1986. As well as playing football, Sumich was also a noted under-age cricketer, playing three Tests and three One Day Internationals for the Australia Under-19 cricket team in 1987 as a left-arm orthodox spinner. Sumich also attended the Western Australian Institute of Sport.

Sumich was selected by the West Coast Eagles with a pre-draft selection before the 1988 National Draft. He made his debut for the club in round one of the 1989 VFL season against Essendon, 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's leading goalkicker, which included four hauls of more than five goals. Against Footscray in round 12 he kicked eight goals, setting a record for the most goals kicked in a match by a West Coast player.

In 1991, Sumich kicked 111 goals to finish second in the Coleman Medal to Tony 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 89 behinds for the season is also a VFL/AFL record. Against Footscray in round 13 he kicked 13.3, surpassing his previous record for most goals in a game (later topped by Scott Cummings in 2000 with 14.1). He also kicked five goals in West Coast's Grand Final loss to Hawthorn. Sumich was a member of West Coast's 1992 and 1994 premiership victories over Geelong, kicking six goals in the 1992 Grand Final and two goals in the 1994 Grand Final. In Round 18 of the 1996 AFL season, Sumich kicked six goals in a stirring six-point victory over Essendon, but was reported by umpire Greg Scroop for allegedly striking Damien Hardwick. Despite the flimsy evidence, he was suspended for two matches.

Sumich has played just three matches this season and only eight since featuring in West Coast's premiership triumph in 1994. He finished his career in 1997 as West Coast's all-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 the WACA Ground – 101 goals from 29 games.

Sumich had been playing on-and-off for South Fremantle since he was recruited by West Coast, mainly when recovering from injury or when out of form, but returned to the club full-time in 1998, serving as co-captain with Peter 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.