Fremantle Dockers assistant Peter Sumich withdraws from Western Bulldogs coaching race

EXCLUSIVE: FREMANTLE assistant Peter Sumich has pulled out of the race to be the new Western Bulldogs senior coach.

GEELONG, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 07: Dockers assistant coach Peter Sumich looks ahead during the Second AFL Qualifying Final match between the Geelong Cats and the Fremantle Dockers at Simonds Stadium on September 7, 2013 in Geelong, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

FREMANTLE assistant Peter Sumich has pulled out of the race to be the new Western Bulldogs senior coach.

Sumich was due to meet with a Bulldogs selection panel in Melbourne at the height of Melbourne Cup fever, but officially withdrew his interest late last night.

The two-time West Coast premiership playing great and 2006 Eagles flag-winning midfield coach contacted Dogs chief executive Simon Garlick to declare his surprise decision not to further pursue his first senior appointment.

He is understood to have cited personal family reasons for electing not to stay in the race for the Dogs appointment to replace Brendan McCartney, who was sacked at the end of the season.

Sumich was unavailable for comment today.

Sumich turned his back on the prospects of a long awaited senior appointment to stay alongside his family where son Zane, 16, will play colts at South Fremantle next year and is a candidate for state under-18s selection.

His 18-year-old daughter McKenzie is into her second year at Notre Dame University in Fremantle, while Macy, 13, is in high school.

It is believed his family would have stayed in the west if Sumich had been appointed as Dogs coach.

The Eagles goal-kicking record-holder confirmed a full commitment to Fremantle’s quest for a historic first-ever premiership in his important support role to head coach Ross Lyon.

Sumich, 47, apparently contacted Lyon as well as Dockers football operations boss Chris Bond and chief executive Steve Rosich late last night to inform them of his decision to pull out on the Dogs interview process.

Peter Sumich will remain at Fremantle Oval next season. Picture: Theo Fakos

He considered his professional future and made a final decision in consultation with wife Samantha on a four-day escape to Bali last week.

The vastly experienced specialist coach after a decade at West Coast under John Worsfold and the past three seasons at Fremantle is contracted as a senior assistant with the Dockers until the end of next season.

Sumich could yet be in line for an earlier extension to stay in tandem with Lyon’s flag and sustained finals plans.

He was among just three final candidates for the Dogs appointment along with current assistant Brett Montgomery and highly-regarded Hawthorn two-time premiership defensive coach Luke Beveridge.

Beveridge, 44, is now considered the distinct front-runner to win the Dogs appointment with Montgomery believed to have been assured of a senior assistant’s position if he is overlooked for the top job.

Sumich was stunningly overlooked at the end of the 2013 season for the Eagles senior appointment after the retirement of his long time friend and decorated West Coast teammate Worsfold when Adam Simpson was selected.

Worsfold is a member of the Dogs selection panel.

Sumich is believed to still hold strong desire to be a senior coach and will remain in contention for any vacancy that opens up at the Dockers into the future or his old club if Simpson fails to make it in the cut-throat coaching game.

Lyon is contracted to lead the Dockers until the end of 2017, while Simpson has two more seasons to run on his commitment after an extension at the end of his first season this year.

Originally published as Fremantle Dockers assistant Peter Sumich withdraws from Western Bulldogs coaching race