Goodes is well known for his Indigenous Australian heritage and is prominently involved and associated with several Indigenous sport and community programs. In 2014 he was awarded the Australian of the Year award.
Early life
Goodes was born in South Australia, to Lisa May and Graham Goodes, with siblings Jake,and Brett. Through his mother, Goodes is of Adnyamathanha and Narungga descent while he has English, Irish and Scottish ancestry through his father.
Goodes's parents were separated when he was four and his father moved to Queensland while Goodes moved between Wallaroo and Adelaide (in South Australia) and Merbein (in Victoria) with his mother.
While at Merbein, Goodes attended primary school at Merbein West Primary School in 1986 and it was there that he began to play Australian Rules football. Goodes moved with his family to Horsham, Victoria where he played football at high school and represented Victoria at under 16 and under 18 levels. He began playing with the North Ballarat Rebels as a 16 year old in the Victorian Football League and played in a winning premiership side where he was scouted by the Sydney Swans.
AFL career
Early career
Goodes was drafted by Sydney into the Australian Football League as the No. 43 pick in the 1997 AFL Draft, Sydney's third round draft pick. He spent the 1998 season in the reserves competition, but broke into the first team the following year and went on to win the league's Rising Star Award.
During 2000 and 2001, Goodes played in a variety of positions, developing his game but lacking consistency at times. He played every game during this period. In early 2002, however, his form had slumped and it had been suggested that he may be dropped. However, coach Rodney Eade resigned mid-season and under interim (later permanent) coach Paul Roos, Goodes found himself playing more in the ruck. In the second half of that season his form improved dramatically, resulting in some of the best football of his career. After injuring his knee twice in the ruck, he moved to play on the wing and went on to win two Brown low Medals.
2003: Brownlow Medal success
In 2003, Goodes returned to the ruck position for significant parts of the year in what became his best season so far. He played a critical role in the Swans' revival and eventual preliminary final game that year. In particular, his efforts were crucial in the Swans' win against Port Adelaide in the qualifying finals
At the end of the season, Goodes won the club's best and fairest award (the Bob Skilton Medal) and All-Australian selection for the first time. However, his greatest achievement was winning the league's highest personal honour, the Brown low Medal, along with Colling wood's Nathan Buckley and Adelaide's Mark Ricciuto. This was the second time in the history of the medal that the award was shared between three players (the first time was in 1930). Goodes attributed his success to his longtime mentor John Winter.
2004–05
Goodes had an indifferent 2004, just like his team who only managed the semi-finals stage of the finals series. He did not repeat his efforts of 2003, mainly due to knee injuries, yet he still managed to play every game. The knee injuries were due to an awkward fall during the season while playing in the ruck against the West Coast Eagles. Many expected Goodes to have suffered aposterior or anterior knee ligament damage, but he battled on. After this injury, coach Roos announced that Goodes' rucking days were over and that he would be used in other positions. He played in the backline for the remainder of 2004.
Goodes returned to form in 2005, playing mainly in the midfield. His year was highlighted with a near match-winning 33 disposals in round 18 against the Adelaide Crows. He played well in the 2005 Grand Final, kicked a goal and gathering 20 possessions as the Swans won their first premiership since 1933.[4] He was also awarded life membership of the Swans after playing his 150th game during the year.[5]
2006: Second Brownlow Medal[edit]
In Round 7, 2006, Goodes played his 150th consecutive match, a notable effort with the injuries he had in 2004. By the end of the 2007 season he had played 191 consecutive matches. He returned to the ruck position in 2005 and 2006, but only occasionally around the ground and not at centre bounces where his knee injury occurred.
In 2006 Goodes had another notable year and again won the Brownlow Medal. He came into the count as a heavy favourite and became the twelfth player to have won two or more Brownlow Medals, the first Aboriginal to win two and the first player to win two with a non-Victorian club.[6] Goodes said of his performance, "I'd like to think with another couple of years in the midfield I could improve again.".[7] Goodes had a poor performance in the first half of the 2006 Grand Final versus the West Coast Eagles in a repeat match of 2005. However, he turned on the heat in the second half with his team coming close (losing by one point).
At the end of the year he was once again selected in the All-Australian team.
2007–2011[edit]
Seasons 2007–2008 saw Goodes drop off in form which was inevitable due to the high standards set during 2006 but was still instrumental in Sydney's finals campaigns in 2007 and 2008. He was hit with Brownlow Medal-threatening suspensions and charges during both years, and 2008 saw Goodes miss games through suspension and/or injury for the first time since 2000. His 2007 season ended incredibly strongly for him as he received 16 of a possible 18 votes in the last six games of the year.
Goodes played his 250th game in 2009, against Geelong. Adam was arguably one of the best players throughout the 2009 season, having to help out in the forward line because of Barry Hall's mid season departure. He finished the season with 38 goals and averaged 21 disposals. From 2006–09 Goodes amassed 84 Brown low votes which equated to 21 per season, easily a winning tally in years gone by considering he had drawn 22 votes during 2003's success. Interestingly 2009 was between 2007–2009 Goodes played career best football in the eyes of some critics and perhaps even better than 2003 or 2006 as evidenced by a career high 8 goal haul against Fremantle in 2008 and more accurate goal kicking when thrust into the forward 50. Goodes played some breathtaking football in 2009 in what was a relatively disappointing season in which the Swans finished 12th and failed to make the finals for the first time in 6 years. He also polled three Brown low Medal votes in the round 7 match against Geelong which Sydney lost by 51 points.
His mark against Hawthorn in round 2 2009, running goal directly from a centre square bounce against Richmond in 2008 and incredible snap goal against Collingwood in round 21 2009 has led to some believing he was more worthy a recipient of the Brownlow medal in 2008 or 2009 in particular than in 2003 or possibly even 2006.
In 2010, Goodes averaged about 20 disposals and 2 goals a game having been at the forefront at Sydney's revival. They finished the season in 5th position. Having started the season at CHF and providing a good target inside 50 for much of the year, Goodes was shifted into the midfield to great success. Goodes finished 6th in the Bob Skilton Medal and was named in the initial 40 man All-Australian squad but not in the final side. He was also named captain of the International Rules squad to play in Ireland in October.
After a stellar 2009 season and an occasional move to half forward, Goodes was selected last but managed to sneak into the 2009 All-Australian team on the interchange bench.
Goodes started 2011 playing mostly in the Swans' forward line. While his ball-winning was considered as good as ever, his goal-kicking became somewhat inconsistent. In a match againstEssendon that season, Goodes had a chance to win the game for Sydney with his team down by 2 points, but his shot at goal drifted to the left, losing the game for Sydney by only a solitary point.
Goodes played his 300th AFL game when the Sydney Swans tackled Hawthorn in the second semi-final, losing by 36 points. He became the quickest player (though not the youngest) in AFL history to reach the milestone, breaking 2003 joint-Brownlow Medallist Mark Ricciuto's record by 274 days. His late-season surge in form saw him selected in the 2011 All-Australian team, in the forward pocket. It is his fourth selection in the team.
In 2011, he started 2nd favorite for the Brownlow but finished 8th overall and won the 2011 Sydney Swans Best and Fairest beating Josh Kennedy and Rhyce Shaw who tied for second.
2012
Adam Goodes broke the Sydney games record when he played his 304th AFL game with a stand-out contribution in the Swans' Round 5, 2012 victory over Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania.[8] He suffered a quad injury in Round 6, and was expected to miss up to six games with the injury.
Goodes guided his team to victory in the 2012 AFL Grand Final, defeating Hawthorn by 10 points.
Goodes has made several television advertisement appearances. In 2006, he appeared along with Shane Crawford in an advertisement for Campbell's Chunky soup. In 2007, he appeared, along with team-mates, in the Barry Hall series of commercials for the AFL in Sydney. In 2009, he featured in the official advertisement for the AFL, receiving the ball from Chris Judd while striding out in front of horses on a horse racing track, as well as in an advertisement for Powerade.
Personal life[edit]
Goodes is of Aboriginal descent and is active in the Sydney Indigenous community. He has spent time working with troubled Indigenous youth, including those in youth detention centres, along with his cousin and former teammate Michael O'Loughlin. His mother Lisa May is also involved in community work and works in a nursing home. Goodes and O'Loughlin have also helped to start an Indigenous football academy. In September 2009 they launched the Goodes O'Loughlin Foundation, a foundation aimed at empowering the next generation of Indigenous role models in all walks of life across Australia. Goodes and O'Loughlin co-chair the foundation, which focuses on education, employment and healthy lifestyles. Goodes took his mother to the Brownlow Medal ceremony in 2003.
Goodes' brother Brett became a professional footballer in the 2013 AFL season. He has played for both the Port Adelaide Magpies in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) and the North Ballarat Roosters in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and has represented Victoria in inter league matches. Brett later worked at the Western Bulldogs, and he was drafted by the Bulldogs as the no.4 pick in the 2012 AFL Rookie Draft at age 28.
In 2014, Goodes was named as the New South Wales finalist for the Australian of the Year award. On 25 January 2014 he was announced as the Australian of the Year for 2014.
Racism controversy
On 24 May 2013, in the opening match of the AFL's annual Indigenous Round, a 13-year-old Collingwood fan abused Goodes by calling him an "ape".[11] After the game the Collingwood president,Eddie McGuire apologised to Goodes "on behalf of the Collingwood Football Club and on behalf of football". McGuire said that Collingwood had a "zero tolerance" policy towards racism, but also said that the girl, who also later apologised to Goodes, did not know that what she had said was a racial slur. Goodes said that he was "gutted" and that he had "never been more hurt".
Five days later McGuire, whilst hosting a breakfast radio program, made an unprovoked on-air comment linking Goodes to the promotion of the King Kong musical which was about to open in Melbourne. McGuire apologised on air after making the reference, however his actions were widely criticised.
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