Craig Salvatori

Craig Salvatori

Personal information
Nickname	Salvo
Born	1966
Playing information
Position	Prop
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1986–95	Eastern Suburbs	117	21	4	0	92
1996	South Sydney Rabbitohs	22	2	0	0	8
	Total	139	23	4	0	100
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1991–93	New South Wales	5	1	0	0	4
1991	Australia	2	0	0	0	0
Source: RLP

Craig Salvatori (born 1966) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s. He spent most of his career at the Eastern Suburbs club. His position of choice was in the front row. Salvatori also played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs as well as representing Australia and New South Wales.

Playing career

In 1985, Salvatori was graded by Eastern Suburbs from the Nelson Hotel club and he first broke into the top grade in 1986. During his time with Easts, Salvatori played more than 100 matches for the club, many as captain. Salvatori was a large and 'fiery' front row forward but he possessed skill and some pace, scoring 21 tries. In the 1991 season Salvatori won the Dally M award for Front rower of the Year. In the later part of his playing career, Salvatori suffered several knee injuries and he spent his final year of first grade with the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Representative career

In 1991, Salvatori first gained selection for Australia, playing in two matches against New Zealand. Salvatori was also selected for an Australian tour of Papua New Guinea at the end of the year but he sustained an injury in the first tour match which prevented him from playing in any of the tests.

Salvatori was selected to represent New South Wales as a reserve for:

• game III of the 1991 State of Origin series
• games I, II and III of the 1992 State of Origin series, scoring a try in game I
• game I of the 1993 State of Origin series

Post-playing career

Since his retirement, Salvatori took on a role coaching rugby league's emerging nations. He coached the Italian side in the 1997 World Sevens competition and the 1999 Mediterranean Cup competition.

In 2001, Salvatori was named as a reserve in the Indigenous Team of the Century, captained by Artie Beetson.

Salvatori currently runs a guest house in Byron Bay.

His second wife, Kathy Salvatori, was killed in the 2002 Bali bombings. Salvatori has since remarried.