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Goodwin says goodbye to Crows

By Mr Dandalooa

Adelaide Crows captain Simon Goodwin will retire from AFL football at the end of season 2010.

Goodwin, who played 268 games since joining the club via the 1996 preseason draft, was named captain in 2008.

The 33-year-old’s announcement comes at a time when the Crows are struggling at 15th on the ladder, having won just 2 games this season.

He said he made the decision with very clear thinking about how he wanted to be perceived.

“Physically, my body feels great and mentally I still have a real thirst for the competitive aspect of the game,” he was quoted as saying this week.

“However, if I fast forward 12 months I can’t guarantee this will still be the case.

“I have always wanted to finish my career while I was still performing at a good level.”

Goodwin who accelerated immediately in his career was part of the back-to-back premiership team in his first two years as the Crows took the flag in 1997 and 1998.

However, in a remarkably frank interview in February 2008, Goodwin revealed he was battling a gambling addiction.

In 2007, the skipper was fined $20,000 for betting on football. The AFL fined Goodwin $40,000 for betting, but half of it was suspended, and the league ordered him to undergo counselling.

At the time, Goodwin told The Advertiser having his gambling addiction exposed, which led to his public shame and reprimand, actually enabled him to become a better footballer, husband, and father.

In the candid interview, the AFL player, who earns somewhere in the vicinity of $500,000 a year at the Crows, said how he had relinquished control of his family’s financial affairs and is paid a weekly allowance by his wife.

Also ironically, in the early hours of December 22 2005, Goodwin was involved in an incident with a photographer from The Advertiser newspaper while at a private function.

Goodwin has since apologised for his threat to the photographer that he would “punch your lights out”.

Gambling and threats aside, Goodwin was a remarkable sportsman.

Before he became an AFL star he was also an accomplished junior cricketer and had co-captaining the South Australian under-19s cricket team.

But football was his love and in 1996, he was recruited from South Adelaide in the SANFL with pick 18 in the preseason draft.

But the during his debut in round 1 of 1997 against the West Coast Eagles, Goodwin suffered a severe quadricep injury and he was forced to the sidelines for months.

Ironically, he returned to play in round 14 when he face West Coast again, holding his position until he was omitted following the round 18 victory over Carlton at Football Park.

Goodwin blossomed in the second half of the 1998 season and showed glimpses of the prolific ball-winner he would become in later years.

In 1999, Goodwin’s performances mirrored that of his club – disappointing.
Despite featuring in 19 of Adelaide’s 22 games, Goodwin’s progress was marred by inconsistency as Adelaide finished a lowly 13th. 

Following his disappointing 1999, Goodwin emerged as a star in his own right in the 2000 season with a string of assured midfield displays earning both his first All-Australian guernsey and Gold Jacket as Adelaide Club Champion.

Goodwin capped this watershed year with selection to the Adelaide Football Club Team of the Decade.

In early December 2007, Goodwin was named the captain for Adelaide for the 2008 football season.

This coincided with a move into the forward line to allow the club’s young midfielders to gain experience and bolster a struggling attack.

In Round 2 2008, Goodwin kicked a career best seven goals in Adelaide’s win over rivals West Coast. The Crows destroyed them by 76 points after their shattering Bulldog loss in Round 1. Score: 21.7 133 to 8.9 57.

In round 15, 2009, Goodwin played his 250th game.

But now, Goodwin said he has achieved all he can in the game and that he started thinking about retirement four weeks ago and made his decision after talking with his family.

“I wanted to be remembered as a player [as] someone who played with a highly-competitive spirit and played right to the end with very high standards, not someone who crawled to the finish,” he was reported as saying in eastern states media.

“I don’t want to be distracted through the second half of the year by constant speculation about will or won’t I continue.

“All I want is to be totally focused on is leading this club back to playing consistent, competitive football.”