Western Australian football great Peter Sumich is convinced Richmond’s fourth and final pick (No. 62 overall) in the 2018 AFL national draft, Luke English, has what it takes to make the grade at the game’s highest level.
Sumich, a dual premiership player with West Coast, had a close look at English’s on-field capability, coaching him as part of the WA under-18 team at the 2018 national championships.
English starred for WA throughout that carnival, averaging 23 disposals, six tackles and one goal a game, which led to him being selected in the under-18 All-Australian team.
As captain of Perth at WAFL Colts level, the industrious, hard-running, ‘ball-magnet’, young midfielder averaged 30 disposals per game.
“He’s exactly what a club needs if they’re desperate for a bloke who is going to set examples and, on top of that, play some great footy for your club…play 200-plus games and do everything right,” Sumich said in the lead-up to this year’s national draft.
“He’s not flashy, he’s not quick, but he works his butt off…
“He’s not the prettiest player going around, and people say he is a little bit slow. But I just see a lot of (West Coast’s 2014 Brownlow Medallist and gun midfielder) Matt Priddis in this kid.”
