""He has had 15 months away from AFL football and he looks pretty good. He doesn't have any body fat on him and last weekend he completed a 10km fun run and pulled up well. He has looked after himself since finishing football and regularly does weights so I don't have any major worries in terms of his body. That said we will still have to manage him correctly,"" Harvey said.
Harvey said Salmon's role was still to be finalised. ""Steven Alessio will be our number one ruckman and Paul understands that and doesn't have a problem with it. I would think Paul will come off the bench to give Steve a break and occasionally sit in the forward pocket where he will stretch opposition sides,"" Harvey said.
""Part of his role will also be nurturing the young ruck talent we have and helping them develop as footballers. David Hille made excellent progress last season and he will only benefit from having someone of Paul Salmon's experience around him. We have also drafted a young ruckman in Simon O'Keefe and he is another who will spend a lot of time with Paul.""
Harvey said the ability of Salmon to get his hands on the football first would be a major bonus for Essendon. ""It is easier to structure your set up around the football if you know your ruckman is going to get his hands on the football first. Your midfield can then look at dictating rather than having to negate. That is how we hope things will work,"" Harvey said.
Salmon starts training with the Bombers next Monday.
