Paul Salmon (born 20 January 1965) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League for Essendon 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, 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, 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 and ruckman in the Australian Football League over a long period of time. Football career AFL Essendon (1983–1995) He made his debut in 1983 with Essendon; however, it was during the 1984 VFL season that he established himself as the league's leading full-forward, kicking 63 goals in 13 games. Essendon's leading ruckman at the time was the illustrious Simon Madden, 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 Justin Madden (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 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 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 in front of 96,862 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. After