Fremantle’s Peter Sumich was tonight announced as the AFL Coaching Association’s Assistant Coach of the Year at the AFLCA’s Awards Night at Crown in Melbourne.

Voted by his coaching peers, Sumich won the award in his first year as an assistant under Ross Lyon at Freo.

Sumich, who is the forward line coach at the club, joined Freo after 11 seasons as an assistant coach with West Coast, the club he played 150 games for from 1989-1997 which included two AFL premierships.

He also played 112 games for South Fremantle in the WAFL, and was coach of the Bulldogs from 2001-2002.