Adam Goodes doesn’t really dwell on the past, or even on the future – he’s always more interested in the present.
When he first laced up the boots for Sydney as a young man, he thought only about that week’s game, and reaching the standards he set for himself.
He never dreamt he would play 350 AFL games, a mark he attains in Friday’s preliminary final against North Melbourne.
Goodes has set records for the most games ever for Sydney and for an Indigenous player.
But the dual Brownlow medallist and two-time premiership player says looking back on his career, he can’t yet see it all that clearly.
“By the time you actually get to 350 like I have, it’s … a bit of a blur what’s happened in the past,” Goodes said on Wednesday.
“You’re so focused in where you are right now, and what you have to do this week. Goodes 34, grew up between the small towns of Wallaroo in South Australia and Merbein in country Victoria.
While NBA champion Michael Jordan featured on his bedroom wall, he said his biggest heroes were the Indigenous AFL stars of the era.
“I was 14 when I went to the local footy field and saw Gilbert McAdam running around for Central Districts,” he said.
“And that to me, seeing him and the way he played, was quite amazing.
“Michael Long and those guys, the way that they went about their football, was really inspiring.”
It’s a testament to Goodes’ statesmanship beyond the field that journalists are as likely to fire questions at him about politics and Indigenous issues as they are about football.
The 2014 Australian of the Year started the GO Foundation with former AFL star Michael O’Loughlin, offering school scholarships to Indigenous children. He says having a balance of on and off-field pursuits is important.
“I have to give enough time to my football … to my foundation, to other causes I support,” Goodes said.
“Otherwise I find very quickly that I do have a steep downhill in my football.”
Goodes says his 350th game is only special if Sydney win. “I tell you, 350 means a lot going into hopefully another grand final, that’s for sure,” he said.
“You only remember those milestone games when you win them.”
