| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth | January 9 1980 , Melbourne |
| Recruited from | Bendigo Pioneers |
| Height and weight | 189cm / 100kg |
| Playing career¹ | |
| Debut | April 25, 1998, Essendon vs. Collingwood, at M.C.G. |
| Team(s) | Essendon (1998-2006)
158 games, 56 goals Fremantle (2007-) 0 games, 0 goals |
| ¹ Statistics to end of 2006 season | |
| Career highlights | |
Dean Solomon (born January 9, 1980) is an Australian rules footballer. He currently plays for the Fremantle Dockers following a trade from the Essendon Football Club. Known for his toughness, he made his AFL debut in 1998 for Essendon and was part of their 2000 premiership team. On numerous occasions, however, Solomon has shown his lack of discipline to be detrimental to his game, one example being the 2005 clash with Adelaide at AAMI Stadium, where Solomon's concession of a 50-metre penalty was considered a turning point in the match, from which Adelaide became big victors. Solomon has appeared in advertisements for Yakult, who are a corporate sponsor of Essendon. On October 13, 2006 Solomon was traded to the Fremantle Dockers for the 2007 season, following a trade of draft picks No. 42 and No. 47, Fremantle also gained pick No. 52 from the Bombers. He links up with close friend, forward Chris Tarrant who was traded to the Dockers on the same day from Collingwood. Since arriving at Fremantle, Solomon has regularly found himself facing match review scrutiny and frequents trips to the tribunal.
Early career
Solomon grew up in the small mining town of Broken Hill excelling in basketball, cricket and football though it is the latter in which he held the most promise. Playing for the North Broken Hill football club, a team with which his family has a long history he received several honours as a junior, along with several junior premierships, however as a 16 year old he was awarded "best junior" when playing for the league or A-grade team against many large, hard men who would often attempt to physically intimidate him with late hits, dirty tactics or hard bumps. Despite the difference in mass between Solomon and the other players, Solomon added more 'hardness' to his game, making a conscious decision not to take the 'soft option' and instead as a 16 year old stood up to opposition players physical tactics. Solomon played his last game for North Broken Hill in 1995, unfortunately injuring his fingers and missing a grand final. Solomon then went on to play for the Bendigo Pioneers, an under 18 side that is well known as a drafting conduit to the AFL, which proved a smart move, as he was selected in the 1997 National AFL Draft 2nd round selection (Essendon) No. 20 overall.
External links
| 2000 Essendon Bombers Premiership Squad |
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| Captain: Hird | Alessio | Barnard | Barnes | Bewick | Blumfield | Caracella | Fletcher | Hardwick | Heffernan | J.Johnson | M.Johnson | Lloyd | Long | Lucas | Mercuri | Misiti | Moorcroft | Ramanauskas | Solomon | Wallis | Wellman | Coach: Sheedy |
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1 Webster • 2 J. Carr • 3 Schammer • 4 Hasleby • 5 Dunn* • 6 Solomon • 7 Peake • 8 McManus • 9 M. Carr • 10 Palmer • 11 Headland • 12 O'Brien • 13 Pratt* • 14 Grover • 15 Crowley • 16 Mundy • 17 Mark Johnson • 18 McPharlin • 19 Hinkley • 20 Tarrant • 21 Black • 22 Thornton • 23 Mayne • 24 Campbell • 25 Dodd • 26 Bradley • 27 Gilmore • 28 Murphy • 29 Pavlich • 30 Drum • 31 Sandilands • 32 Bell • 33 Farmer • 34 Warnock • 35 Ibbotson • 36 Browne • 37 Michael Johnson • 38 Smith* • 39 Mourish* • 40 Foster • 41 Duffield • 43 Hayden • 42 Head • 44 Connelly* Coach: Harvey * denotes Rookie Listed players
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