Paul Salmon
Essendon and Hawthorn · “Fish”
AFL career
324 games561 goals
- Debut
- R1 1983 v SYD27 Mar 1983
- Most recent
- SF 2002 v PAD13 Sept 2002
Stats
2002 | ESS | 15 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 8.7 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 54 |
2000 | HAW | 24 | 8.3 | 4.2 | 12.5 | 5.6 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 72 |
1999 | HAW | 17 | 8.8 | 5.2 | 14.0 | 4.9 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 78 |
1998 | HAW | 20 | 8.8 | 7.8 | 16.6 | 5.5 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 92 |
1997 | HAW | 21 | 8.5 | 7.7 | 16.2 | 6.1 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 82 |
1996 | HAW | 18 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 16.9 | 6.1 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 81 |
1995 | ESS | 13 | 7.5 | 3.2 | 10.7 | 6.1 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 69 |
1994 | ESS | 14 | 8.3 | 5.4 | 13.6 | 5.0 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 71 |
1993 | ESS | 20 | 11.4 | 4.2 | 15.5 | 7.9 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 97 |
1992 | ESS | 19 | 10.7 | 4.2 | 14.9 | 7.3 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 91 |
1991 | ESS | 18 | 11.1 | 5.1 | 16.1 | 8.4 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 90 |
1990 | ESS | 21 | 11.9 | 3.2 | 15.0 | 8.1 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 88 |
1989 | ESS | 16 | 10.1 | 3.2 | 13.3 | 6.0 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 77 |
1988 | ESS | 19 | 9.5 | 3.3 | 12.8 | 5.7 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 70 |
1987 | ESS | 22 | 7.9 | 3.4 | 11.3 | 5.2 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 71 |
1986 | ESS | 21 | 7.8 | 3.0 | 10.8 | 5.9 | 1.0 | 0.8 | - | 2.2 | 1.5 | - |
1985 | ESS | 4 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 5.3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | - | 3.8 | 2.5 | - |
1984 | ESS | 13 | 10.5 | 1.7 | 12.2 | 7.0 | 1.5 | 1.6 | - | 4.8 | 2.8 | - |
1983 | ESS | 9 | 4.4 | 1.9 | 6.3 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 1.4 | - | 1.6 | 0.4 | - |
PAD | FP | SF | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 0.0 | 33 |
WCE | CS | EF | 1 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 2 | 1.0 | 72 |
CAR | MCG | R22 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 1.1 | 58 |
FRE | CS | R21 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 27 |
COL | MCG | R20 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 0.0 | 91 |
ADE | FP | R19 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 1.0 | 67 |
BRL | CS | R18 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 0.0 | 39 |
RCH | MCG | R17 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2.0 | 53 |
WBD | CS | R14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1.0 | 43 |
MEL | CS | R13 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 1.0 | 64 |
PAD | CS | R11 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 2.0 | 39 |
KAN | MCG | R10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 0.0 | 38 |
SYD | TS | R9 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 0.2 | 62 |
STK | CS | R8 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 2.0 | 47 |
CAR | MCG | R7 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 2 | 0.0 | 78 |
Bio
Arriving at Essendon from North Ringwood, Paul Salmon immediately captured the imagination of the football public with his imposing physical stature and natural aerial ability. Known affectionately as 'Fish', he was a central figure in Kevin Sheedy's revitalised Bombers of the early 1980s, forming a devastating ruck and forward partnership with Simon Madden. His 1984 season remains a significant subplot in VFL history; after dominating the competition with 63 goals in just 13 games, a season-ending knee injury cruelly sidelined him during the club's premiership run. He returned to taste premiership success in 1985 and remained a focal point of the attack for over a decade, famously kicking five goals against Carlton in the 1993 Grand Final victory.
Despite his success at Windy Hill, Salmon grew frustrated with being deployed primarily as a full-forward rather than in his preferred ruck position. This desire for a definitive role change led to a high-profile trade to Hawthorn following the 1995 season. At Glenferrie Oval, Salmon successfully reinvented himself as a premier tap ruckman, utilising his significant height advantage and surprising agility to control stoppages. His time in brown and gold was highly productive, yielding two Best and Fairest awards and selection in Hawthorn's Team of the Century, validating his belief in his capabilities as a starting follower.
Profile
- Born
- 20 Jan 1965 (age 61y 274d)
- Height
- 205 cm
- Weight
- 112 kg
Teams
Honours
- Premiership(2×) 1985, 1993
- Hall of Fame2016
- All-Australian1997
- Hawthorn B&F(2×) 1996, 1997
- Top 10
- 1998, 1999
- Brownlow Medal
- Top 10
- 1996, 1997
Bio
1 revisionArriving at Essendon from North Ringwood, Paul Salmon immediately captured the imagination of the football public with his imposing physical stature and natural aerial ability. Known affectionately as 'Fish', he was a central figure in Kevin Sheedy's revitalised Bombers of the early 1980s, forming a devastating ruck and forward partnership with Simon Madden. His 1984 season remains a significant subplot in VFL history; after dominating the competition with 63 goals in just 13 games, a season-ending knee injury cruelly sidelined him during the club's premiership run. He returned to taste premiership success in 1985 and remained a focal point of the attack for over a decade, famously kicking five goals against Carlton in the 1993 Grand Final victory.
Despite his success at Windy Hill, Salmon grew frustrated with being deployed primarily as a full-forward rather than in his preferred ruck position. This desire for a definitive role change led to a high-profile trade to Hawthorn following the 1995 season. At Glenferrie Oval, Salmon successfully reinvented himself as a premier tap ruckman, utilising his significant height advantage and surprising agility to control stoppages. His time in brown and gold was highly productive, yielding two Best and Fairest awards and selection in Hawthorn's Team of the Century, validating his belief in his capabilities as a starting follower.