Christian Salem Biography

After dealing with weight loss and heart rate fluctuations during the first half of the year, Christian Salem returns to the Demons' line-up.

"It was a pretty challenging period to be honest, because I was told there was no real timeline on it. I've had it before, but the thought of no timeline, just regular blood tests once a week and tracking the levels to make sure it was dropping to a safe level – I was pretty much walking two or three laps with a heart-rate monitor (at training)," Salem said.

"That's how frustrating it was at times, and it wasn't ideal coming off the back of an injury (missing nearly three months with a knee injury) last year. But you've just got to embrace those sorts of challenges that come at you."

Christian Salem will miss at least six weeks after he underwent surgery on chipped cartilage in his knee.

Salem was injured in a tackle by Marcus Bontempelli in Melbourne's 2022 season opener against the Western Bulldogs and was substituted out of the game in the first quarter.

Christian Salem will require surgery for chipped cartilage in his knee but has avoided major ligament damage.

Christian Salem signs a five-year extension with Melbourne to remain at the club until the end of 2026.

"Given he would have been eligible for free agency at the end of this year it is significant that he has forgone that opportunity to extend his time here so early in the season," Demons list manager Tim Lamb said.

"Christian has developed into a crucial player and we believe he still has significant growth in his game. He is a much-loved and highly respected member of our playing group and we are excited to see what he can produce for the red and blue in the years to come."

Christian Salem signs a two-year contract extension to remain with Melbourne until the end of 2021.

"It was good to get it done before the season," Salem said about his new contract.

"Last year was probably my most consistent year in terms of being able to stay out on the field. I'm just looking to go to a higher level in all aspects of my game."

Christian Salem has enjoyed his best year in 2018 after a big pre-season focus on his fitness.

The Demon is one of only two general defenders in the AFL to rate elite this year for kick rating and defensive-half pressure.

"It was a frustrating year last year, with a couple of injuries and a bit of inconsistency due to that," Salem said.

"I knuckled down in the off-season and got myself really fit and strong and it was more towards setting myself up to have a consistent year.

"I found that helped quite a bit. I missed one game because of my broken thumb, but other than that, I've had probably my most consistent year since I've been at the club."

Christian Salem will be sidelined after having surgery to fix a broken thumb sustained in the second quarter of Melbourne's match against Essendon.

"He had a guard put on it at half-time and re-strapped it – we didn’t want it injected, because we felt that it was going to affect his ability to handle the ball," Demons elite performance manager Dave Misson said.

"He had an operation yesterday afternoon to stabilise that fracture, so he's going to need to be reviewed post-op to see how the wound's going."

With the confidence in his body restored, Christian Salem says he is ready to make his mark on the AFL in 2018.

Salem missed three games last year with a hamstring injury after feeling a grab in the back of his leg in the Demons' gritty three-point win over West Coast in round 14, but he has been in the clear since.

"That's probably the biggest shift to be honest, the confidence in my body," Salem said.

"That's something I haven't had much of the last couple of years so I've put in a lot of work, with my mechanics and a few other things so I'm looking forward to it (the year ahead)."

Christian Salem accepts a one-match ban from the VFL's Match Review Panel for striking Carlton forward Liam Sumner at Casey Fields.

Christian Salem is set to miss up to four weeks with a hamstring injury suffered in the Demons' gritty three-point win against West Coast./

Christian Salem signs a two-year contract extension with Melbourne to remain with the club until the end of 2019.

After dealing with thyroid and concussion issues in the past, Salem is averaging a career-high 22 disposals in 2017, with his elite ball use and composure under pressure proving to be an important component of Melbourne's side.

"It's been a frustrating couple of years but I'm happy to be back out on the park," Salem said.

"In terms of the thyroid, I'm getting regular blood tests once a month and I'm slowly weening myself off the tablets so we're just making sure that's all under control. At the moment it's going pretty well."

Setback-plagued Christian Salem is optimistic about having a productive 2017 after being best afield in Melbourne's 21-point win over Carlton at the MCG.

In what the 21-year-old agreed was the most assured performance in his frustrating 32-game career, the highly-skilled left-footer gathered a personal-high 31 possessions.

"It's probably the best game I've had at the club, but it's also just a start and I really want to build some consistency now," Salem said.

"I'm a year older now and it's time to step up after a frustrating three years.

"When I first got to the club I had a thyroid issue, then a couple of hamstrings and another thyroid issue, so I've been pretty frustrated.

"But I had a really good pre-season and my thyroid's under control, so it's just about getting some consistency with just playing games.

"The most I've played in a row is only seven games. It's not a lot but hopefully I can stay on the track and have a big year."

Melbourne has earmarked Christian Salem to move into the midfield in 2017 as new coach Simon Goodwin looks to add more class to his hardened group of inside ball-winners.

"He's put a lot of work in and we've trained him up to play in the midfield knowing he can play down back," Goodwin said.

"He's a quality ball user … but there's also things in his game that he brings around the contest that really help us.

"We see potential in that role, but we also see that he has the ability to be an unbelievable half-back.

"We didn’t get a lot of footy out of him last year, so we see him in some ways as a bit of a recruit this year."

Christian Salem is back in full training after being concussed by a brick during Melbourne's brutal pre-Christmas camp.

"We were hiking and the bag wasn’t packed right and I went to lift (up the backpack) and it hit me in the back of the head as we were going downhill," Salem said.

"That didn’t help, but I’m fine now and I was back to full training (on Tuesday) and I’ve pretty much been able to do everything, but the last couple of weeks there wasn’t much contact."

Christian Salem visits a specialist after a thyroid problem resurfaced.

The Demons are hopeful the thyroid issue will only be a short-term hurdle and will not take up a large chunk of Salem's season.

Melbourne has used the pre-season to rebuild promising youngster Christian Salem, better preparing him for a transformation into a full-time small defender in 2016.

Salem has been a "project" for the Demons' strength and conditioning staff, working with him on speed, strength and mobility training to ensure the hamstring troubles that hampered his 2015 season were a thing of the past.

"What we've done with Christian is to ensure he's done enough speed work in the lead-up to the season," Melbourne high performance manager Dave Misson said.

"We've realised in some games that he's going to be exposed to some small forwards who are going to run him around and he needs to be prepared for that."

Christian Salem suffers a setback in his return from a hamstring injury after injuring his 'good' hamstring at training.

Salem is expected to miss between three and four weeks.

Christian Salem is ruled out for up to a month with a hamstring injury.

Salem suffered the injury during Melbourne's 105-point drubbing at the hands of Hawthorn and was subbed out of the game.

"Christian had a scan after the game and it was a reasonable hamstring injury, but we're hoping it's just going to be three to four weeks," Demons performance manager David Misson said.

Melbourne signs Christian Salem to a new two-year deal, ensuring the exciting youngster will remain at the club until at least the end of 2017.

"I'm really excited and looking forward to the future. I love this club already and I've only been here for a year and a bit, so I'm looking forward to the season," Salem said.

"I think [it was good] to get it out of the way just before the season starts so I don't have to worry about it at all."

Christian Salem showed the poise of a veteran as he calmly drilled the match-winning goal in Melbourne's upset win over Essendon.

"I looked up at the clock and there was about 28 minutes gone so I thought I would just take my time and try and put it through, just think of it like I was at training," Salem said.

"As soon as I turned around and looked up at the goals, I took a deep breath and took my time and just tried to work through it.

"It was just about staying calm. You do it 100 times at training and the less you think about and you focus on your routine, the better off you'll be.

"It was definitely the best moment in my footy career."

Christian Salem has spent most of the year playing as a half-forward but hopes to break into the Demons midfield in time.

"I'm trying to take it all in and learn as much as I can," Salem said.

"I'm slowly learning that and learning off the senior guys like Bernie (Vince), Jonesy (Nathan Jones) and Crossy (Daniel Cross)."

Christian Salem makes his debut for the Demons against Sydney in round 6 afer tallying 32 disposals in the VFL in the week before.

"It's been really important for Christian that he's worked extremely hard to get into the team," Melbourne coach Paul Roos said.

"We're no longer going to hand games to young players."

Christian Salem makes his AFL debut for Melbourne at the MCG with 6 disposals (6 kicks), 3 marks, a tackle and a goal in a 31-point loss to Sydney.

Melbourne's No.9 draft pick Christian Salem says his goal is to make the Demons' round one side in 2014.

"It's hard to say now, but I'd love to (play round one) – everyone would love to do that," Salem said.

"That's what I'm trying to aim for and I'll set my sights on that.

"First I've got to train hard and get my body right, as well as earn the respect of the coaches and my teammates."