Eric Sarich

Who is Eric Sarich?

Eric Sarich is a former Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League. He also played for four clubs in the West Australian National Football League.

Sarich, a wingman and half forward, was a noted tagger throughout his career which began at South Fremantle in 1960. He struggled to get games in his two seasons and transferred to Swan Districts in 1962, after being lured by coach Haydn Bunton. He played at Swan Districts for three years before moving to Victoria to take up an offer from Fitzroy. His deal with Fitzroy fell apart at the last minute and he instead found himself at South Melbourne where he would play beside Bob Skilton.

With South Melbourne, Sarich managed a four goal haul against Melbourne in just his third VFL game and from 1966 to 1968 he was a regular fixtures in the seniors, something he had struggled to do in the WANFL.

He returned home in 1969 after accepting an offer to captain-coach East Fremantle, who were coming off a poor year. The club improved on their efforts of the previous season by winning eight games under Sarich in the 1969 season but were still a long way away from playing finals. When the 1970 season started badly, Sarich was sacked and played out the season with Subiaco. The following year he rejoined South Melbourne for one final season.