| Dean Solomon | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Dean Solomon | ||
| Born | (1980-01-09)9 January 1980 (age 46) | ||
| Original team | Bendigo Pioneers (TAC Cup) | ||
| Draft | No. 20,1997 national draft | ||
| Debut | Round 5, 1998,Essendon vs.Collingwood, atMCG | ||
| Height | 189 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Weight | 102 kg (225 lb) | ||
| Position | Midfielder /forward | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1998–2006 | Essendon | 158 (56) | |
| 2007–2009 | Fremantle | 51 (22) | |
| Total | 209 (78) | ||
| Coaching career | |||
| Years | Club | Games (W–L–D) | |
| 2017 | Gold Coast | 3 (0–3–0) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2009. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Dean Solomon (born 9 January 1980) is a former professionalAustralian rules footballer who played for theEssendon Football Club and theFremantle Football Club in theAustralian Football League (AFL). Solomon served as caretaker senior coach with theGold Coast Football Club for the last 3 games of the 2017 season, following the departure of senior coachRodney Eade on 7 August 2017.[1]
Solomon grew up in the small mining town ofBroken Hill excelling inbasketball,cricket and football though it is the latter in which he held the most promise.
Playing for theNorth 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.
Solomon played his last game for North Broken Hill in 1996, unfortunately injuring his fingers and missing a grand final.
Solomon then went on to play for theBendigo Pioneers in the under 18TAC Cup competition. He was selected in the1997 AFL draft by Essendon with a 2nd round selection, number 20 overall.
Solomon made hisAFL debut in 1998 forEssendon and was part of their2000 premiership team.[2] Solomon played a total of 158 games and kicked a total of 56 goals for Essendon Football Club from 1998 until 2006.[3]
On 13 October 2006, Solomon was traded toFremantle, following a trade ofdraft picks No. 42 and No. 47, Fremantle also gained pick No. 52 from the Bombers. He links up with close friend,forwardChris Tarrant who was traded to the Dockers on the same day fromCollingwood.[4]
In 2008, Solomon was reported for elbowingCameron Ling to the head which resulted in broken cheekbones and eye socket.[5] Solomon received an 8-week suspension, the most severe AFL tribunal penalty in 11 years.[6]
On 18 February 2010, Solomon announced his retirement from AFL football due to a painful degenerative knee injury.[7] Solomon played a total of 51 games and kicked 22 goals for Fremantle from 2007 until 2009.[3][2]
Solomon was an assistant coach withFremantle in the2010 season under senior coachMark Harvey. However after one season, Solomon departed the Fremantle Football Club at the end of the 2010 season on 4 August 2010.[8][9][10]
He joinedGold Coast Suns as an assistant coach in the months before they entered the AFL for the2011 season.[11]
During the2017 season, Solomon was appointed caretaker senior coach of Gold Coast Suns, with three matches left to go afterRodney Eade stepped down as Gold Coast Suns senior coach, during the 2017 season, when Eade was told he would not be receiving a contract extension with Gold Coast Suns.[12][13] The Suns under Solomon went on to lose all three games for the rest of the 2017 season.[1][14][15] Solomon was not retained as Gold Coast Suns senior coach at the conclusion of the 2017 season and was replaced byStuart Dew as Gold Coast Suns senior coach. Solomon however remained at the club as assistant coach.[16]
After nine years of service as an assistant coach, Solomon was sacked at the end of the2020 season.[17][18][19] Upon his departure from the club, and on the advice ofAdam Simpson, Solomon decided to take a 12 month sabbatical from the AFL in a bid to further develop himself with an eye on returning to coaching in 2022; during this sabbatical he ran a gym inKingscliff, New South Wales.[20][21][22]
On 17 May 2022, it was announced that Solomon would be joining the coaching staff atGreater Western Sydney as part-time assistant coach for the rest of the 2022 season under GWS caretaker senior coach and his former teammateMark McVeigh, who replacedLeon Cameron after Cameron resigned as GWS senior coach in the middle of the 2022 season after Round 9, 2022.[23][24][25] Solomon left GWS Giants at the end of the 2022 season.[26]
On 9 November 2022, Solomon was appointed senior coach ofTweed Coast Football Club, a club that competes in the Queensland Football Association Division 2 South.[27]
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
| 1998 | Essendon | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 38 | 25 | 63 | 12 | 13 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 5.4 | 3.6 | 9.0 | 1.7 | 1.9 |
| 1999 | Essendon | 7 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 139 | 105 | 244 | 61 | 39 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 7.3 | 5.5 | 12.8 | 3.2 | 2.1 |
| 2000 | Essendon | 7 | 25 | 8 | 7 | 196 | 136 | 332 | 115 | 43 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 7.8 | 5.4 | 13.3 | 4.6 | 1.7 |
| 2001 | Essendon | 7 | 24 | 8 | 5 | 208 | 119 | 327 | 101 | 55 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 8.7 | 5.0 | 13.6 | 4.2 | 2.3 |
| 2002 | Essendon | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2003 | Essendon | 7 | 24 | 11 | 20 | 243 | 105 | 348 | 103 | 86 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 10.1 | 4.4 | 14.5 | 4.3 | 3.6 |
| 2004 | Essendon | 7 | 23 | 15 | 17 | 245 | 154 | 399 | 79 | 88 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 10.7 | 6.7 | 17.3 | 3.4 | 3.8 |
| 2005 | Essendon | 7 | 16 | 4 | 5 | 130 | 62 | 192 | 65 | 45 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 8.1 | 3.9 | 12.0 | 4.1 | 2.8 |
| 2006 | Essendon | 7 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 146 | 97 | 243 | 72 | 48 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 7.3 | 4.9 | 12.2 | 3.6 | 2.4 |
| 2007 | Fremantle | 6 | 20 | 11 | 10 | 196 | 120 | 316 | 77 | 108 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 9.8 | 6.0 | 15.8 | 3.9 | 5.4 |
| 2008 | Fremantle | 6 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 149 | 71 | 220 | 70 | 36 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 11.5 | 5.5 | 16.9 | 5.4 | 2.8 |
| 2009 | Fremantle | 6 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 144 | 125 | 269 | 60 | 87 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 8.0 | 6.9 | 14.9 | 3.3 | 4.8 |
| Career | 209 | 78 | 85 | 1834 | 1119 | 2953 | 815 | 648 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 8.8 | 5.4 | 14.1 | 3.9 | 3.1 | ||
| Season | Round | Charge category (level) | Victim | Result | Verdict | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 11 | Melee involvement | — | Guilty (accepted fine) | $4,500 fine | [29] |
| 2005 | 18 | Melee involvement | — | Guilty (accepted fine) | $2,400 fine | [30] |
| 2006 | 8 | Charging (3) | Ben Cousins(West Coast) | Not guilty (won at tribunal) | — | [31] |
| 2007 | PS-QF | Striking (1) | Brent Harvey(Kangaroos) | Guilty (early plea) | Reprimand | [32] |
| 6 | Misconduct (3) | Jason Roe(Brisbane Lions) | Guilty (lost at tribunal) | 1 match suspension | [33] | |
| 21 | Wrestling | Brad Miller(Melbourne) | Guilty (accepted fine) | $900 fine | [33] | |
| 2008 | 1 | Rough conduct (1) | Shane Wakelin(Collingwood) | Guilty (lost at tribunal) | 2 matches suspension | [34] |
| 8 | Wrestling | Tom Williams(Western Bulldogs) | Guilty (accepted fine) | $1,800 fine | [34] | |
| 15 | Striking (6) | Cameron Ling(Geelong) | Guilty (direct to tribunal) | 8 matches suspension | [34] |
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