Goodes in great form for AFL grand final

He copped weeks of boos and pooh-poohs, but now Adam Goodes is primed for his fourth AFL grand final after a sterling 350th game.

The dual Brownlow medallist wound the clock back in Sydney’s preliminary final demolition of North Melbourne, booting three goals and burning off would-be tacklers with his pace.

The Swans started slowly, Goodes galvanising them when he snapped the side’s first goal in the 16th minute.

“The best game I’ve seen him play this year,” Leigh Matthews remarked on the Seven Network.

It was a marvellous milestone, especially in the context of pundits questioning whether the 34-year-old should sign up for a 17th season.

Not to mention recent stinging accusations that Goodes staged for free kicks, and the scorn with which most opposition fans have treated him with this season.

“Goodesy has copped a lot of crap this year and it was so good to hear the crowd chanting his name,” Ted Richards told AAP.

“Because he’s done so much for this club on-field and off-field.

“It’s great that people are aware of all the good things he does for this footy club because quite often people are talking about other things in the media and he’s an absolute champion.”

Josh Kennedy was also full of praise for his teammate who last Friday night became the 14th player to pass the 350-game mark in VFL/AFL history.

“We’re all sitting there going ‘can we sign him on for another five years?’,” Kennedy told Seven.

“He’s a tremendous player. A champion of the game and you never count him out.”

The Australian of the Year will become Sydney’s first three-time premiership winner if the Swans beat Hawthorn in the grand final.

Goodes is still weighing up his future and is not expected to make a decision until after Saturday.

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