About Paul Sironen
Paul Sironen 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. He 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. He made a number of appearances for both New South Wales in State of Origin, and also for Australia, and has been named as part of the Wests Tigers Team of the Century. On a (northern) summer break, Sironen played some games in the lower grades for Balmain, but also made his first-grade debut, playing two games in the top grade late in the season. Sironen decided that he "never got to touch the ball enough" and, after the first season ended in Hawaii, he moved back to Australia. Sironen surpassed Garry Jack's club record for the most first grade games. In his first season in professional rugby league, Sironen was called up to the Australian squad to play against Papua New Guinea and a test match against France, as well as being selected for the 1986 Kangaroo Tour.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.