South Fremantle, Freo Derbies cherished Sumich memories

HE might have made his mark kicking 514 goals as a dual AFL premiership player with the West Coast Eagles, but Peter Sumich grew up dreaming of playing in a Fremantle Derby for South Fremantle and not only did he achieve that but was part of the 1997 Bulldogs' premiership winning side.

As East Fremantle prepares to host South Fremantle in the now annual Anzac Fremantle Derby this Sunday at East Fremantle Oval, Sumich took time out to reflect on what the Fremantle Derbies mean to him and how proud he is still to see them play such a big part in the WA football landscape.

Sumich grew up supporting South Fremantle and attending derbies dreaming one day of pulling on the Red V jumper and running out for his beloved Bulldogs up against the hated East Fremantle.

He got to achieve that dream 20 times during his 112-game WAFL career with South Fremantle. His first derby was the fourth game of his career in Round 5, 1986. That turned out to be a loss despite his 19 possessions and five marks.

He actually lost the first seven derbies he played in with the first victory for him and his South Fremantle side coming in Round 18, 1988 at East Fremantle Oval.

"The derbies were always huge. I grew up barracking for South and to go and watch those derbies in the 70s and 80s was unbelievable," Sumich said.

"For me to then play in my first one was a big thrill. I obviously played in a few more and it was just a great experience."

While Sumich only did taste victory four times in 20 attempts against East Fremantle, the one that mattered most was the 1997 Grand Final where he was part of the victorious South Fremantle team in front of 32,371 people at Subiaco Oval.

That South Fremantle premiership team included the likes of Dean Rioli, Warren Campbell, David Hart, Brad Bootsma, Jon Dorotich, Peter Worsfold, Tom Bottrell, Jess Sinclair, David Hynes, David Gault, Heath Black, Marty Atkins and Clem Michael.

They beat an East Fremantle outfit that featured Scott Spalding, Steve Malaxos, Wayne Roser, Brad Dodd, Gary Dhurrkay, Adrian Bromage, Craig Burrows, Damien Condon, Marshall Stockden and Stephen Bilcich.

That will forever be one of Sumich's great career highlights after he returned to South Fremantle following his 150 AFL games, 514 goals and two premierships at West Coast.

"To win the 97 Grand Final in a derby was huge. They were two great sides really if you look back at them and some of the personnel playing. It was great that it fell our way at the end," he said.

"It was always a dream of mine to play in a Grand Final and win one with South and for it to be a derby was great after early doors we unfortunately didn’t get there. Then I went on to West Coast.

"But to actually play in one and get that opportunity I was very fortunate for and I thank the club and especially John Todd for that."

While West Coast obviously will always be a big part in Sumich's life after his 150-game career there and then winning a premiership as an assistant coach in 2006, South Fremantle has a big piece of his heart as well forever.

That now continues with his son Zane playing for the Bulldogs and having graduated into reserves football in 2018 following his colts career.

"In 97 I played in that Grand Final and 2000 and 2001 I coached them, so South is a big part of my life and I have my son playing there now," Sumich said.

"He is playing reserves football now for South and hopefully he'll get a league game soon so the club is a big part of my life. It's great to see him playing for South and he'll play in a derby this week and I'm really looking forward to that to see how he plays and enjoys the experience."

Sumich grew up dreaming of playing in a Fremantle Derby, playing in 20 of them were then a big part of his WAFL career and he couldn’t be happier to see the significance of them still exists in the modern era, including the now annual Anzac Derbies.

"I'm really glad the derbies have retained that special feeling and even for the West Perth-East Perth one as well, it's great to have those great rivalries," he said.

"With East Fremantle and South Fremantle, you can still get crowds close to 10,000 depending on where they are on the ladder now which is a great result for the clubs.

"You have to go with the times and create other special occasions so to be able to play on Anzac Day is a great result for the two clubs. Everyone understands the Anzac side of things and then combined with the rivalry of the two sides over 100 years of football make it pretty special."

Following his time in the AFL as an assistant coach with West Coast and Fremantle, by the end of 2016 Sumich was looking for a fresh challenge.

That ended up seeing him join the WA Football Commission Talent Academy team as Coach Coordinate for the State 18s and he couldn’t be happier in the role.

"It was always something I had to look at because I had been in the AFL system for 15 years and I needed to freshen up a little bit, and come out of it for a few years and develop myself further," Sumich said.

"To coach the kids and be at the commission has been great for me, and really refreshed me. Coaching in my own right I think is what I needed to do as well. I've really enjoyed it and the time doing this so far working with the young kids and coaching them."