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 oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

for

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

and

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

. 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 Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...

, a two-time premiership player, seven-time leading goalkicker at Essendon, and the fourth-highest goalkicker for Essendon. At 206 cm (6 ft 9 in), 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 the Essendon Football Club and the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). After his retirement in 1997 ...

, 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 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 200 cm (6'7") tall at the time. While leading the goalkicking with 63 goals in just 13 games, halfway through the 1984 season, a serious knee injury which 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 ruckmen * Ruck (rugby league), the area sur ...

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 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

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 (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") 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. Sy ...

in front of 96,862 fans at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

. 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 calcaneus (h ...

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, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their ...

', 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 (1995–2000)

At the end of 1994, Salmon moved to

, where he played from 1995–2000, and revived his career by winning the Best and Fairest in 1996 and '97 as well as the Most Consistent Award in '98. He became vice-captain in '98 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-perf ...

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 a ...

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

Essendon Comeback

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 A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...

career, kicking 45 goals in 14 games. He first played for

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in 1984, against

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, 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 (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

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 Representative matches in Australian rules football are matches between representative teams played under the Australian rules football, Australian rules, most notably of the British colonisation of Australia, colonies and later States and ter ...

, 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 ...

, kicking 7 goals in the semi-final, and 1 goal in the final. In 1990, he was picked against New South Wales, in 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

, 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" , 1983 , , 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 Southeast A ...

, , 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 ...

† , , 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 ente ...

, , 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 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, , 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 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, , 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 , , 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 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, , 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 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, , 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† , , 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 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, , 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 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, , 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 , , 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 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, , 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 , , 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 , , 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 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, , 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 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, , 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'' for the

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

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

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, 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 five main free-to-air television netw ...

, 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; 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 (Australia) All-Australians (AFL) Australia international rules football team players Two-time VFL/AFL Premiership players People educated at Norwood Secondary College