1. Paul Sironen was born on 23 May 1965 and is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of Finnish descent who was a prominent Second-row forward for the Balmain Tigers during the late 1980s, and early 1990s.
14 Facts About Paul Sironen
1. 2.
Paul Sironen was part of the team that played in successive Grand Finals in 1988 and 1989, and included other representative players Steve "Blocker" Roach, Wayne Pearce, Benny Elias and Garry Jack.
3.
Paul Sironen made a number of appearances for both New South Wales in State of Origin, and for Australia, and has been named as part of the Wests Tigers Team of the Century.
4.
Sironen is the father of St Helens second rower Curtis Sironen who made his NRL debut for the Tigers against the North Queensland Cowboys in Round 12 of the 2012 NRL season and Bayley Sironen.
5.
Paul Sironen decided that he "never got to touch the ball enough" and, after the first season ended in Hawaii, he moved back to Australia.
6.
Paul Sironen joined the Balmain Tigers and, in his first full year, he was named as the Dally M Rookie of the Year.
7.
Paul Sironen surpassed Garry Jack's club record for the most first grade games.
8.
Paul Sironen was named as a starting second rower in the Wests Tigers Team of the Century as well as the Balmain Team of the Century.
9.
In France, where he was affectionately known as "The Beast", Paul Sironen helped his club Villeneuve-sur-Lot to victory in the final of the 1999 French championship season.
10.
Paul Sironen made his State of Origin debut for NSW in Game 1 of the 1989 series.
11.
In 1989, Paul Sironen played in two Test matches on the tour of New Zealand, and in 1990 made a further two Test appearances, against France and New Zealand.
12.
Paul Sironen became just the fourth forward in the history of the game to make a third Kangaroo Tour in 1994.
13.
Paul Sironen was involved in controversy, after being hit by an elbow in a club game against Wigan at Central Park by British forward Barrie McDermott, and later in the tour was sent off in the match against St Helens.
14.
Altogether Paul Sironen made 21 appearances for his country, scoring three tries.