2021 Player Reviews: #3 Christian Salem

[Demonland 72,212]

The rebounding half back had his best season yet and capped it all off with an outstanding grand final in which he picked up 27 disposals at an exceptional accuracy rate of 96% including a goal when he drifted forward late in the rampage that destroyed the Bulldogs.

Date of Birth: 15 July, 1995

Height: 183cm

Weight: 84kg

Games MFC 2021: 24

Career Total: 130

Goals MFC 2021: 3

Career Total: 24

Brownlow Medal Votes 2021: 1

Premiership Player

[spirit of norm smith 16,461]

Sensational year.  First half especially was very good. 
Composure  Skill  Toughness  Hits targets 

ALL AUSTRALIAN SQUAD 

His finals campaign was excellent. 

His Grand Final was awesome.   In the first half, he was our best player.  Clearly a key part of the team. 

Simply his best year and so hope it’s recognized in B&F.  I think Demonlanders had him 3rd behind Trac and Clarry.
 

PS. Tyson + Salem. V. Josh Kelly 

I’d say it’s evens or we are now slightly ahead !!! 

[durango 2,007]

Simply a brilliant season and he is just in the prime of his football career, this is a great reward for hard work and dedication.

How he missed being a AA player is beyond me but am I biased or just a better judge.

Edited October 10, 2021 by durango

[monoccular 17,431]

Composure and skills are just fantastic. 

At quarter time he looked like a Norm Smith medalist, and the rest of his game was really good though not quite as much as Q1 - but that set up the win.

[DeeZone 9,847]

Christian Salem has looked a player from day one and what a “A” grade game he played in the Granny, just superb.!!

[BigFez 1,462]

1 Brownlow vote is the clearest indication I have seen that the award is BS.

[Nascent 9,215]

I have a gut feeling that later on in his career he will swing forward and become a weapon, similar to Yze. 

Absolute gun.

[Deeoldfart 8,033]

Everything seems to move in 'slow motion' when Salo is around the ball.  His composure is as good as it gets, his disposal efficiency is elite, and unlike the other HB flankers whose disposal the media drool over, he's also a great defender one on one.  He had an outstanding 2021, and was a key plank in our Premiership.

[durango 2,007]

Salem missed one game for the season and it was against Adelaide in Adelaide maybe we would have won if he had been able to play?

[Bates Mate 4,487]

3 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Sensational year.  First half especially was very good. 
Composure  Skill  Toughness  Hits targets 

ALL AUSTRALIAN SQUAD 

His finals campaign was excellent. 

His Grand Final was awesome.   In the first half, he was our best player.  Clearly a key part of the team. 

Simply his best year and so hope it’s recognized in B&F.  I think Demonlanders had him 3rd behind Trac and Clarry.
 

PS. Tyson + Salem. V. Josh Kelly 

I’d say it’s evens or we are now slightly ahead !!! 

In my mind it is Ben Brown and Salem v Josh Kelly. And we win that hands down.

We got pruess for Tyson in a straight swap. We then got pick 31 for pruess.

We gave kangaroo's pick 26 and the pruess pick and got pick 28 and b.brown back.

[rjay 24,928]

Played with injury concern a lot of the year otherwise would have been AA...still better than Rich but who cares.

Salem a brilliant contributor.

Forget the pick swaps and other players, head to head I would pick Salem ahead of Kelly.

A proven finals, big game player against a one that has so far faltered.

[Cranky Franky 2,061]

5 hours ago, durango said:

Simply a brilliant season and he is just in the prime of his football career, this is a great reward for hard work and dedication.

How he missed being a AA player is beyond me but am I biased or just a better judge.

Should have been AA ahead of Bailey Dale. Had a better season, got more disposals, marks & had twice as many tackles per game. Selectors probably worried there were too many Demons in the AA team.

[Sir Why You Little 37,043]

Superb Season. Nothing more to be said

What a magnificent 1st Quarter he had in the GF when the Game was red hot, Salem was Mr Cool

[Demon Disciple 12,139]

Im guessing a top 5 spot in the B&F

[whatwhat say what 22,770]

helluva player

rated super highly internally but not nearly enough externally

 

[DistrACTION Jackson 8,736]

The new silk. Love him

[rpfc 28,438]

Best halfback in the game in my eyes, best kick in the team and hard as a rock.

Was great to see his mum singing the song - just a lovely totem to new Australia.

[Pates 9,660]

I’m just watching the ANZAC eve match vs Richmond, holy cow he is just such a ridiculously cool customer. I know he was the same (if not better) in the Grand Final but he was so damn good, could’ve been as good a choice for the BOG medal as Petracca. 

The thing that makes him stand out above just about everybody is that he sums things up so quickly, he does these deft little taps and handballs that he knows he’s likely to cop a hit at the same time. His footy intelligence is just about the highest I’ve ever seen at the club. 

[Bring-Back-Powell 14,841]

Petrracca owes this guy a beer.

Salem should’ve won the Anzac eve medal given he kept us afloat in the first qtr and could not have played a better game in the GF, but his mate took both medals.

He’s in the peak years now and has come a long way from suiting up with Casey in 2017.

[Dees_In_October 3,383]

3 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Petrracca owes this guy a beer.

Salem should’ve won the Anzac eve medal given he kept us afloat in the first qtr and could not have played a better game in the GF, but his mate took both medals.

He’s in the peak years now and has come a long way from suiting up with Casey in 2017.

Conspiracy theory: maybe Salem did win the Anzac eve medal? Remember how there was a delay because the presenter hadn't been given the winner's name? Maybe someone yelled out "It's Christian" and the presenter just went with the better-known one...

Also, just cause it's worth repeating, 96% disposal efficiency for 27 disposals in a Grand Final is unbelievable.

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,830]

Love this highlights package from the MFC.

Video editor did a great job, but probably had it pretty easy, with the man Salem providing heaps of quality material.  Just look at the first play in the reel.  Tackles, strips the player of the ball and then delivers perfectly to a teammate. Of course the package is finished off by his goal in the GF, which was a suburb and fitting way to punctuate his season.

A man of near endless tallent, he doubles as the team hairdresser if I recall correctly from an interview with Steven May at some point.

[Redlagged 806]

On 10/11/2021 at 2:37 PM, rjay said:

Played with injury concern a lot of the year otherwise would have been AA...still better than Rich but who cares.

Salem a brilliant contributor.

Forget the pick swaps and other players, head to head I would pick Salem ahead of Kelly.

A proven finals, big game player against a one that has so far faltered.

Yeah, who cares? Vastly better player than Rich - and now a premiership player. Same goes for Kelly. For us, I much prefer Salem.. Tough too - touch of mongrel to go with the skills.

[Redlagged 806]

On 10/16/2021 at 9:10 PM, rpfc said:

Best halfback in the game in my eyes, best kick in the team and hard as a rock.

Was great to see his mum singing the song - just a lovely totem to new Australia.

Think I missed the mum. Where was that? (And yes, the outstanding halfback in the game, bar none.)

[leave it to deever 17,511]

Was fitting and deserving he kicked a goal in the Granny.

[Pates 9,660]

2 hours ago, Dees_In_October said:

Conspiracy theory: maybe Salem did win the Anzac eve medal? Remember how there was a delay because the presenter hadn't been given the winner's name? Maybe someone yelled out "It's Christian" and the presenter just went with the better-known one...

Also, just cause it's worth repeating, 96% disposal efficiency for 27 disposals in a Grand Final is unbelievable.

In the same year and two presentations we had the first MOC not be told the ANZAC Eve medal before she went up to present it, and the second (far more important) have the MOC forget to let our coach have his extremely deserved time in the sun to have his speech. 

Bring back Craig Willis!