Peter Laumets

NSL Career: South Melbourne, Brunswick 226 (0) / 1979 - 1988

Socceroos Career: 1 (0) A International

One of the NSL's safest keepers - the talented Peter Laumets was unlucky not to have spent more time with the Socceroos as he contested the position with great Australian keepers such as: Todd Clarke, Alan Maher, Greg Woodhouse, Martyn Crook, Terry Greedy and Jeff Olver. Laumets finished his NSL career with a better clean sheet record than all the aforementioned keepers.

An Altona City junior from the age of 10, Laumets made his first team debut in the 1974 Victorian Metropolitan League at the age of 17 before joining State League side Preston in 1976. Laumets spent three seasons at the club where he helped the side finish runners-up in the 1978 season and earned himself a Socceroos cap against Greece before joining NSL club South Melbourne for the 1979 season.

Initially a secondary choice to experienced keepers Jack Reilly and former Danish youth international John Hansen - Laumets managed 11 appearances in his first season at the club, keeping three clean sheets in his first three games. The club rotated their keeper stocks in an attempt to avoid the wooden spoon, also bringing in Footscray's Scottish keeper Dennis Boland during the season. Laumets became South's undisputed number one the following season and led all NSL keepers with 12 clean sheets in 26 games as the club finished third before reaching the preliminary final of the Play-Off Series. 

Laumets was again dominant in the 1981 season, topping the keeper charts for the second consecutive season with 11 clean sheets in 30 games as South finished runners-up to Sydney City in the league. Laumets dropped form in the 1982 season where he kept just four clean sheets and was in competition with South's back-up keeper Lou Tsigaris, who made six appearances. Laumets returned to form during the 1983 season, starting all 30 league games and kept nine clean sheets as South finished fourth in the league and reached the NSL Cup Semi-Finals. 

In a historic year for the club, Laumets was hard to beat during the 1984 season, keeping a league record 14 clean sheets as South conceded just 20 goals (a league record). In the first ever edition of the NSL Finals Series, South progressed to the grand final, defeating Sydney Olympic four-two on aggregate to claim their first NSL Championship. 

Despite Laumets' outstanding season, the talented keeper was only selected in a scratch match for the national team against a Tasmanian All Stars side as St George's late bloomer Terry Greedy remained the undisputed Socceroos custodian. South continued to dominate in the 1985 season, conceding just 21 goals in the regular season in which Laumets kept nine clean sheets. The club finished top of the Southern Conference once again before being knocked out in the preliminary final in a penalty shoot-out loss to Preston.

South failed to qualify for the finals series in 1986 despite their consistently strong defensive performances in which Laumets again topped the keeper charts, sharing 11 clean sheets with Brunswick's Yakka Banović and Sydney Croatia's Steve Watson. With Terry Greedy falling out of the contest for national team selection, Laumets was unfortunate not to earn a re-call as Heidelberg's Jeff Olver became the Socceroos undisputed custodian.

The 30 year old Laumets dropped form in the 1987 season as he played through injury and lost his place to back-up keeper Con Giatis late in the season, but played in all of South's NSL Cup matches, including the two-legged final loss to Sydney Croatia. Giatis maintained his spot in the side for the start of the 1988 season before the club signed English keeper Bruce MacLaren, urging Laumets to accept a move to Brunswick. Despite Brunswick finishing second-to-last, the experienced Laumets kept five clean sheets in 13 league appearances and started in their NSL Cup Final loss to APIA, losing five-three in a penalty shoot-out. 

Following Brunswick's relegation at the end of the 1988 season, Laumets continued his career with the club in the Victorian State League until 1993, winning the championship in 1991. Laumets temporarily came out of retirement in 1996, starting the first 13 games of the Victorian Premier League season for Bentleigh Greens before hanging up his boots at the age of 39. Laumets was selected as substitute keeper in South Melbourne's Team of the Century.