Paul Salmon (born 20 January 1965) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

for

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club, in the Australian Football League *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington United Kin ...

and Hawthorn. Recruited from North Ringwood, Salmon had a prolific career, with many accolades such as being inducted into the

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the 1996 AFL season, centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media pe ...

, a two-time premiership player, seven-time leading goalkicker at Essendon, and the fourth-highest goalkicker for Essendon.Paul Salmon Inducted Into Afl Hall Of Fame
''Herald Sun'' At , Salmon was, at the time, along with Carlton's

Justin Madden Justin Mark Madden (born 31 May 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer and state politician. He played for both the Essendon Football Club and the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). After his retirement in 1 ...

, the tallest man to play in the AFL upon debut; however, this record would be broken several times. Also known as "Fish", Salmon was a well-known

full-forward Full-forward is a position in Australian rules football and Gaelic football with a key focus on kicking goals. The Coleman Medal is awarded to the player, often a full-forward, who has kicked the most goals in an Australian Football League seaso ...

and ruckman in the

over a long period of time.

Football career

AFL

Essendon (1983–1995)

He made his debut in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

with

; however, it was during the

1984 VFL season The 1984 VFL season was the 88th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 31 March until 29 September, and comprised a ...

that he established himself as the league's leading

, kicking 63 goals in 13 games. Essendon's leading ruckman at the time was the illustrious

Simon Madden Simon Madden (born 30 December 1957) is a former Australian rules footballer who played his entire 19-season career with the Essendon Football Club from 1974 until 1992. Madden is one of the most decorated players in the club's history and wi ...

, which allowed Bombers coach Kevin Sheedy the luxury of playing the accurate kicking "Fish" up forward. His effectiveness in the position was due to his athleticism and ability to win one-on-one marking contests, using his superior height and mobility. At the time, Salmon was the VFL's equal-tallest player alongside 's

(coincidentally, Simon Madden's younger brother), and one of only a handful of VFL players who stood over tall at the time. While leading the goalkicking with 63 goals in just 13 games, halfway through the 1984 season, a serious knee injury that required a full reconstruction left him sidelined for over a year; he then recovered to kick 6 goals and 4 behinds in the 1985 premiership side. From this point onward, the 20-year-old Salmon would rotate between full-forward and his favoured

ruck Ruck may refer to: * Ruck (rugby union), a contesting for the ball in Rugby Union from a grounded player * Ruck (Australian rules football), an aerial contest in Australian-rules football between rival rucks * Ruck (rugby league), the area surro ...

position with Simon Madden. Salmon endured further minor complications with his knee injury and numerous soft tissue injuries over the next few years and was never allowed to settle in a specific on-field role; despite this, he played a vital role for the team, becoming vice-captain in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and culminating in leading the Bombers' season goalkicking tally on seven occasions as well as playing in Essendon's 1993 premiership, where he kicked 5 goals to help Essendon to a 44-point win over Carlton in the

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...

in front of 96,862 fans at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

. After serious injuries to his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

and groin in 1993 and 1994, respectively, and with the knowledge that his playing time was running out, he decided his time as a Bomber was over at 31 years of age, so he requested a new home and was subsequently traded to Hawthorn, the club whom he supported as a child. He was selected i
Kevin Sheedy's best team of his 27 years as coach
and at number 26 in the '

Champions of Essendon The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers or colloquially the Dons, is a professional Australian rules football club that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCrac ...

', which was a list of the best of the past century who wore the red and black, missing the top-25 cutoff by a single position. Salmon has been quoted saying that, while he has great respect for Sheedy, he felt at times he didn't get the best out of him, from perhaps lack of communication. However, he has also spoken in glowing terms about Sheedy being good for his career. In such situations such as in late 1985 when Salmon had recently come back from injury, and was out of form and playing in the reserves, Sheedy made a deal with him that, if he trained hard and if Essendon made the Grand Final, he would play him regardless of his form, a promise that was delivered by both parties.

Hawthorn (1996–2000)

At the conclusion of the 1995 season, Salmon moved to Hawthorn, where he played from 1996 to 2000, and revived his career by winning the Best and Fairest in 1996 and 1997 as well as the Most Consistent Award in 1998. He became vice-captain in 1998 and also finished in the top ten in every best and fairest in each of his five years at the club. After 5 seasons and 100 games with the Hawks, he retired at the age of 35; and, after his retirement, he was named in Hawthorn's Team of the Century. In 1997, Salmon achieved

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

selection, being named in the ruck. In 1999, he won the

Michael Tuck Medal The Michael Tuck Medal was awarded to the best-and-fairest player in the AFL Pre-season Cup Final. The award was presented annually between 1992 and 2013; since 2014, the award has not been presented due to the preseason being structured without ...

for a best-on-ground performance in the winning Hawk's Night Grand Final.

Return to Essendon (2002)

Salmon retired from playing football at the end of the 2000 season. He made a comeback in 2002, after being drafted by Essendon at 37 years of age. He played 15 games in 2002 before permanently retiring from AFL football.

State of Origin

Salmon had a prolific State of Origin career, kicking 45 goals in 14 games. He first played for

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

in 1984, against

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, kicking 5 goals. Salmon next played at State of Origin level in 1986 against South Australia, kicking 4 goals. In the same year, he participated in a game against

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

that has been regarded as "one of the greatest games in the 150-year history of Australian Football", but didn't trouble the scoreboard. In 1987, he performed well, kicking 5 goals and being named in the best players, against Western Australia in Perth. The following year Salmon performed in the State of Origin Carnival, winning the

Tassie Medal The Tassie Medal was awarded to the outstanding player at each Australian rules football Interstate Carnival or Australian interstate championship series held between 1937 and 1988 with the exception of the 1975 knock-out series. The medal is n ...

, kicking 7 goals in the semi-final, and 1 goal in the final. In 1990, he was picked against New South Wales, on a wet day at the SCG, scoring 1 goal, in an upset loss against favourites Victoria. In 1992, he kicked 5 goals against South Australia and was named in the best players. In 1993, in the State of Origin Carnival, Salmon kicked 6 goals in the semi-final against the combined New South Wales–Australian Capital Territory side, but he didn't perform in the Grand Final, failing to score a goal. Salmon last played for Victoria in 1997, against South Australia. Being named in the Ruck for the first time, Salmon performed well, being named best on ground.

Statistics

, - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, , 3 , , 9 , , 14 , , 4 , , 40 , , 17 , , 57 , , 23 , , , , 44 , , 1.6 , , 0.4 , , 4.4 , , 1.9 , , 6.3 , , 2.6 , , , , 4.9 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, , 3 , , 13 , , 63 , , 36 , , 137 , , 22 , , 159 , , 91 , , , , 84 , , 4.8 , , 2.8 , , 10.5 , , 1.7 , , 12.2 , , 7.0 , , , , 6.5 , , 10 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" , style="text-align:center;background:#afe6ba;",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

† , , 3 , , 4 , , 15 , , 10 , , 28 , , 4 , , 32 , , 21 , , , , 4 , , 3.8 , , 2.5 , , 7.0 , , 1.0 , , 8.0 , , 5.3 , , , , 1.0 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, , 3 , , 21 , , 46 , , 32 , , 163 , , 64 , , 227 , , 124 , , , , 154 , , 2.2 , , 1.5 , , 7.8 , , 3.0 , , 10.8 , , 5.9 , , , , 7.3 , , 5 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, , 3 , , 22 , , 43 , , 22 , , 173 , , 75 , , 248 , , 114 , , 24 , , 214 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 7.9 , , 3.4 , , 11.3 , , 5.2 , , 1.1 , , 9.7 , , 6 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, , 3 , , 19 , , 37 , , 23 , , 180 , , 63 , , 243 , , 108 , , 18 , , 126 , , 1.9 , , 1.2 , , 9.5 , , 3.3 , , 12.8 , , 5.7 , , 0.9 , , 6.6 , , 0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, , 3 , , 16 , , 39 , , 16 , , 161 , , 51 , , 212 , , 96 , , 5 , , 144 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , 10.1 , , 3.2 , , 13.3 , , 6.0 , , 0.3 , , 9.0 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, , 3 , , 21 , , 43 , , 25 , , 249 , , 67 , , 316 , , 171 , , 11 , , 208 , , 2.0 , , 1.2 , , 11.9 , , 3.2 , , 15.0 , , 8.1 , , 0.5 , , 9.9 , , 11 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, , 3 , , 18 , , 30 , , 14 , , 199 , , 91 , , 290 , , 151 , , 11 , , 176 , , 1.7 , , 0.8 , , 11.1 , , 5.1 , , 16.1 , , 8.4 , , 0.6 , , 9.8 , , 7 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, , 3 , , 19 , , 59 , , 23 , , 203 , , 80 , , 283 , , 138 , , 12 , , 148 , , 3.1 , , 1.2 , , 10.7 , , 4.2 , , 14.9 , , 7.3 , , 0.6 , , 7.8 , , 10 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" , style="text-align:center;background:#afe6ba;",

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

† , , 3 , , 20 , , 65 , , 41 , , 227 , , 83 , , 310 , , 157 , , 11 , , 194 , , 3.3 , , 2.1 , , 11.4 , , 4.2 , , 15.5 , , 7.9 , , 0.6 , , 9.7 , , 4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, , 3 , , 14 , , 16 , , 13 , , 116 , , 75 , , 191 , , 70 , , 12 , , 165 , , 1.1 , , 0.9 , , 8.3 , , 5.4 , , 13.6 , , 5.0 , , 0.9 , , 11.8 , , 0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, , 3 , , 13 , , 39 , , 23 , , 98 , , 41 , , 139 , , 79 , , 5 , , 29 , , 3.0 , , 1.8 , , 7.5 , , 3.2 , , 10.7 , , 6.1 , , 0.4 , , 2.2 , , 1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, , 4 , , 18 , , 4 , , 1 , , 158 , , 146 , , 304 , , 110 , , 24 , , 252 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 8.8 , , 8.1 , , 16.9 , , 6.1 , , 1.3 , , 14.0 , , 18 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, , 4 , , 21 , , 13 , , 5 , , 179 , , 162 , , 341 , , 128 , , 29 , , 352 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 8.5 , , 7.7 , , 16.2 , , 6.1 , , 1.4 , , 16.8 , , 13 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, , 4 , , 20 , , 7 , , 3 , , 176 , , 155 , , 331 , , 110 , , 26 , , 549 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 8.8 , , 7.8 , , 16.6 , , 5.5 , , 1.3 , , 27.5 , , 14 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, , 4 , , 17 , , 9 , , 5 , , 150 , , 88 , , 238 , , 84 , , 8 , , 380 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 8.8 , , 5.2 , , 14.0 , , 4.9 , , 0.5 , , 22.4 , , 6 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, , 4 , , 24 , , 8 , , 4 , , 198 , , 101 , , 299 , , 135 , , 14 , , 443 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 8.3 , , 4.2 , , 12.5 , , 5.6 , , 0.6 , , 18.5 , , 4 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, , 4 , , 15 , , 11 , , 3 , , 71 , , 60 , , 131 , , 56 , , 14 , , 231 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 4.7 , , 4.0 , , 8.7 , , 3.7 , , 0.9 , , 15.4 , , 0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 324 ! 561 ! 303 ! 2906 ! 1445 ! 4351 ! 1966 ! 224 ! 3897 ! 1.7 ! 0.9 ! 9.0 ! 4.5 ! 13.4 ! 6.1 ! 0.8 ! 12.0 ! 109

Career after football

Salmon has also worked in the media co-hosting ''

Sportsworld ''Sportsworld'' (also known as ''NBC SportsWorld'') is an American sports anthology television program which aired on NBC on Saturday afternoons from 1978 to 1994. Format The program presented a wide variety of lower-profile and offbeat sporting ...

'' for the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

and ''Time Out for Serious Fun'' for the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

, and he has released several books. He released an autobiography called ''The Big Fish: Paul Salmon's Own Story'' in 2001; ''Fish Tales'', a book recalling humorous on- and off-field incidents, in 2002; and he followed up in 2003 with another book, called ''More Fish Tales: Favourite Yarns From A Footballing Life''. He also worked as a coach of the First XVIII Football team at

Carey Baptist Grammar School Carey Baptist Grammar School, commonly known as Carey, is an private school, independent, co-educational, Baptists, Baptist day school in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The school has five campuses: Kew, Victoria, Kew (ELC to Year ...

; he retired from that position in 2008 to spend more time with his family and concentrate on business interests. In August 2022, Salmon defeated former Essendon teammate Jason Johnson on the "Lou's Handball" segment of '' The Sunday Footy Show'' with a score of 76–74.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salmon, Paul 1965 births Living people All-Australians (1953–1988) Essendon Football Club players Essendon Football Club premiership players Hawthorn Football Club players Peter Crimmins Medal winners Victorian State of Origin players Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) All-Australians (AFL) Australia international rules football team players VFL/AFL premiership players