Steven Salopek (born 21 June 1985) is an
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 of Croatian descent who played for
Port Adelaide Football Club
Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where they are nicknamed ...
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 ...
(AFL). Originally from
Narre Warren Football Club
Narre Warren is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 38 km southeast of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Casey local government area. Narre Warren recorded a population of 27,689 at the 2021 cen ...
in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
's south-east, Salopek played for the
Dandenong Stingrays
The Dandenong Southern Stingrays are an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition.
1992 saw the birth of the Southern Stingrays, developed under the leadership of Steve Kennedy (Regional Ma ...
in the
TAC Cup
The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victo ...
before being a first round drafted choice at the
2002 AFL Draft, being selected at number six by Port Adelaide. Salopek is currently an Assistant Coach (Backline) for the
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition.
Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...
in the
AFL Women's
AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, 1 ...
.
Port Adelaide career
Salopek wore number 31 for Port Adelaide until
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
when he changed to number three and enjoyed probably his best season for Port Adelaide in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
. Salopek was part of Port Adelaide's
2007 Grand Final side and had continued success from
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
to
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. However, recurring injuries would limit his playing time.
Glenelg Football Club 2012
When not in the Port Adelaide side, Salopek played with
South Australian National Football League
The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport.
Originally formed as the ...
(SANFL) team
Glenelg. However, following his demotion to Glenelg's reserve side in 2012, Salopek sought and was granted a transfer to Port Adelaide's SANFL team.
Coaching
Carlton Football Club 2018 - Present
On the 9th of November, Salopek was announced as an Assistant Coach (Backline) for the Carlton Football Club in the AFL Women's.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salopek, Steven
1985 births
Port Adelaide Football Club players
Port Adelaide Football Club players (all competitions)
Living people
Australian people of Croatian descent
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia)
Dandenong Stingrays players
Glenelg Football Club players
Port Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) players