THIS week’s edition of WATN checks in on a father-of-four who is handling huge commercial property deals for a living after a football career tarnished by injuries and bad luck.
Steven Salopek came to Port Adelaide as the number 6 pick in the 2002 National Draft and played 121 games for 53 goals.
A midfielder turned half-back, Salopek wasn’t selected to play in the 2004 Grand Final as a teenager but was there in 2007 and beyond during some of the club’s darkest times.
The 32-year-old recalled knowing little about the history of the club when he first arrived.
“Being from Victoria I didn’t really take much interest in any interstate teams and I was a super passionate St Kilda supporter so my life didn’t really go outside of St Kilda,” he said.
“I got to Alberton and I knew the players well given it was a pretty star-studded line-up at the Power at the time but I didn’t really know anything about the history of the club and the success the club had had in the SANFL.
“It wasn’t long before I
“I was drafted with Brett Ebert so learning from his dad Russell and Brian Cunningham in particular.”
As a
But he wasn’t going to miss the chance to play in a Grand Final in 2007, although he hesitates to recall the game nowadays.
“It was very much a forgettable day but the whole lead up and the experience was amazing and that was probably compounded by the fact that as a team we were so young and not expected to do anything,” he recalled.
“We had a pretty good run towards the end of the year but the expectation on us was pretty low.
“Geelong
“When you’re young and naïve you think these things are just going to take off and you’ll have repeated success and you’ll play finals ever year but that’s not the case.”
Salopek had probably his best years at the club between 2008-2010 but then endured some tough times in the ensuing years with form and injury issues seeing him playing in the Glenelg reserves at times.
He played his final match for the Power in 2011 at a yet-to-be redeveloped Adelaide Oval, then in 2012 informed the club he wanted to return home to Victoria and
It was a difficult time for the then 27-year-old.
“The club obviously wanted to go down a different path and things were pretty sour and pretty difficult,” he said.
“Everyone has a bit of pride about them and that all took a bit of a dent to mine.
“We had the passing of John McCarthy so it was a really sensitive time around the club but once the formalities were over we had sold our house and were always going to leave.
“I trained with Richmond for a week and there was a bit of a Port Adelaide contingent there with Damien Hardwick coaching there, Mark Williams was there and Brendon Lade and Chappy were playing there as well.
“I also had a meeting with Melbourne and that didn’t go that well and obviously the same with Richmond so then I got the call saying there was no further interest so the career ended pretty abruptly.”
Salopek found it tough figuring out what to do next.
He was bitter about the game but decided to play at
“The hardest thing for me was that all of my mates were still playing AFL.
But Daniel said he was more worried about me as a person than as a footy player and gave me the flexibility to train and play when I could.
“I had some success there as well winning both the B grade and A grade flags there last year with my brother which was excellent when I was finishing up.
“Steven Gilham is there and he is a good mate, along with Jay Schulz so there’s a bit of a footy connection.
“The pathway out of the game isn’t easy, there’s no real rule book or guidance so it was good to be there for each other.”
A career in Industrial real estate then opened up and Salopek worked with Crabtrees Real Estate for four years before moving to international firm Knight Frank.
“Footy gave me the tools that you need in the corporate world like obviously presentation skills and being able to talk to people from all walks of life so I just needed to learn a bit about what is selling, where the suburbs were because I grew up with a chunk of my years in Adelaide so it was all brand new learning the streets and suburbs,” he said.
“It gives me the freedom of not having to work weekends and being able to spend time with my family and have the flexibility to work at home and help my wife Alice with a
Still married to his long-time partner Alice, Salopek has four sons - Louis, 9, Max, 7, Billy 2, and Ed, 3 months.
Salopek says Louis is a “mad Port Adelaide supporter, crazy, even a die-hard” while Max supports Geelong having been “brainwashed by (Salopek’s) mother-in-law and brother-in-law.”
He now enjoys going for early morning runs before everybody is awake to clear his mind and prepare for his day, usually doing this
And while things didn’t go to plan at Port Adelaide, Salopek says he will always take pride in having worn the
“My name is on the locker there and one day I’ll get to a game at Adelaide Oval and take the kids to Alberton and show the kids my name on the locker,” he said.
“When you leave – nobody ever really gets to leave on their own terms unless they’re in the top one
“But time heals old wounds and with Louis always keeping up with how the Power is going I am always checking the AFL app with him.”
More on portadelaidefc.com.au...
