Peter Sumich believes star West Coast ruckman Nic Naitanui has given up meat as part of his pre-season preparation for 2020.

Naitanui has enjoyed a busy period away from footy over the past several weeks, including releasing his children’s book Little Nic’s Big Day, appearing on Telethon, and feeding giraffes in Kenya.

But one thing he hasn’t been doing, according to Sumich, is eating meat.

“Nic Nat at the moment isn’t eating meat,” Sumich said on 6PR this morning.

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“I got that from a friend of mine. Nic Nat and I think Sonny (Michael) Walters were down in the country areas and doing some sort of promotion.

“It was down in Katanning I think… there’s a lot of beef and all that around.

“Nic’s pushed it away and gone ‘no, no meat for me, just salad’.”

Naitanui responded to Sumich’s claims on social media, joking he had enjoyed bacon and eggs with Sumich this morning.

Camera Icon Has Nic Naitanui changed up his diet? Credit: Danella Bevis

Naitanui made just five appearances in 2019 as he made his return from a second knee reconstruction, only to then suffer a syndesmosis injury.

“I think Nic Nat’s just trying to shed some kilos and get ready for the pre-season, which is a great sign,” Sumich said.

“If he’s doing something like that, I think that’s a great sign for West Coast.”

Sumich also opened up to 6PR’s breakfast show about how he felt watching Justin Longmuir take the reins for Fremantle’s first day back at training for first-to-fourth-year players.

Sumich was considered a favourite alongside Longmuir for much of the race to replace outgoing Dockers coach Ross Lyon before missing out on the role.

“Not really. I know where it all sits,” Sumich said when he was asked if he had feelings of ‘what might have been’.

“I hope Justin does really well with the club. It’s a new era for them.

“Ross had a go for what, seven or eight years I think, and unfortunately fell short of a premiership.

“The club deserves a premiership going forward. Whether it’s with Justin or someone else… hopefully it’s soon, anyway.

“We want to see Fremantle up and running. In a new era now with Justin, hopefully they can do that over the next 12 months.”