Christian Salem returns to the Melbourne backline this week from a medium-term injury, where he made a name for himself as a prolific rebounder in a premiership team. In his absence Jake Bowey has been filling that slot but it was Trent Rivers who was omitted to bring Salem back in, giving Bowey owners in fantasy an interesting dilemma. How strong is Bowey's job security, and is Rivers just being rested? The fact that the bye rounds are coming up suggests rest is not the issue. Many would have stepped off Bowey as a stepping stone already, but if not, you've got another week.
Christian Salem returns to the Melbourne backline this week from a medium-term injury, where he made a name for himself as a prolific rebounder in a premiership team. In his absence Jake Bowey has been filling that slot but it was Trent Rivers who was omitted to bring Salem back in, giving Bowey owners in fantasy an interesting dilemma. How strong is Bowey's job security, and is Rivers just being rested? The fact that the bye rounds are coming up suggests rest is not the issue. Many would have stepped off Bowey as a stepping stone already, but if not, you've got another week.
Christian Salem has been in as good a run of form as anyone during Melbourne's 8-0 start to the year and as such is most definitely in the running to be a top six scoring back by the end of the season. His combination of quantity and quality makes him catnip for fantasy coaches looking for a set-and-forget premium. He is so good, in fact, that his only problem is that oppposition coaches may sit a defensive forward on him to tag him out of the game when the whips start cracking closer to September. He is full-priced, and full of points to give.
Salem is flammable
An attacking weapon from half back and through the midfield, Christian Salem produced career highs in disposal and mark outputs, highlighted by a 29 disposal, eight-mark performance against the Saints in round 5. The Dee ranked top 50 in the competition for both metres gained and rebound 50s. Salem is the primary connector between defence and midfield zones, heavily relied upon to make the optimal decision. After an injury-prevalent first four years at the club, Salem has played in 94% of recent matches. This attacking mindset has translated into positive fantasy scoring and he is now one of the most desirable defenders. Select in early to middle rounds.
Which Salem is is to be?
After being dropped late in 2017, Christian Salem took it upon himself to hire a personal trainer in the off season to work on his endurance. 25 touches and one mark across the first two games wasn't what the coaches would have wanted, but he registered 20 the next week and, apart from a midseason blip with some concussion, largely kept that rate up for the rest of the season. If you can look past those four sub-50 scores last season which can be explained away, Salem can be relied upon to deliver a floor of 20 disposals with occasional games where he threatens 30. It is a slight worry that his mark total seems to be dwindling somewhat as he tends to receive handballs from midfielders a little more, but a lift in tackles should balance that out. A solid pick in middle rounds.
And did those Dees in ancient time
Like many of his teammates, Christian Salem kind of lost the plot at the end of 2017, in his case ending up with a trip to the VFL and two suspensions. Though his average was 20 points above baseline and 17 better than the previous campaign with big increases in kicks and marks, high variability continues to plague a career lacking in continuity. Melbourne has a history of rollercoaster rides of emotion, from back in the Dean Bailey era through the Jack Watts experiment. Like the club he plays for, Salem has to find some way of smoothing out the kinks of life to settle into a weekly rhythm to foster success. Preseason shenanigans were not encouraging on that score. Salem will be picked up in middle rounds, with risks on both upside and downside.
