Adam Goodes facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Adam Goodes
Goodes at a Recognise campaign press conference, 2014
Personal information
Full name	Adam Roy Goodes
Date of birth	(1980-01-08) 8 January 1980 (age 45)
Place of birth	Wallaroo, South Australia, Australia
Original team	North Ballarat Rebels
Draft	No. 43, 1997 National Draft
Position(s)	Utility
Career highlights
2× Brownlow Medal (2003, 2006) 2× AFL Premiership (2005, 2012) 3× Bob Skilton Medal (2003, 2006, 2011) 4× All Australian (2003, 2006, 2009, 2011) 3× Sydney leading goalkicker (2009, 2010, 2011) AFL Rising Star 1999 Indigenous Team of the Century Australian of the Year 2014

Adam Roy Goodes (born 8 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Known for his community work and anti-racism advocacy, Goodes was named the Australian of the Year in 2014.

Early life and family

Goodes was born in Wallaroo, South Australia to Lisa May and Graham Goodes. He has two siblings, Jake and Brett.

Goodes' parents were separated when he was four; his father moved to Mackay, Queensland while Goodes moved between Wallaroo and Adelaide (in South Australia) and Merbein (in Victoria) with his mother.

He attended primary school at Merbein West Primary School in 1986 and it was there that he began to play Australian rules football. He moved with his family to Horsham, Victoria, where he played football at high school and represented at under-16 and under-18 levels. At age 16, he began playing with the North Ballarat Rebels in the TAC Cup. Goodes played in a winning premiership side with the Rebels, where he was scouted by the Sydney Swans.

Goodes took his mother to the Brownlow Medal ceremony in 2003.

Brett, who is 4 years younger than Adam, played 22 AFL games for the Western Bulldogs between 2013 and 2015.

AFL career

Goodes was drafted by Sydney into the Australian Football League in the 1997 AFL Draft. 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. 2003 became his best season to that point. 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 received All-Australian selection for the first time. However, his greatest achievement was winning the league's highest personal honour, the Brownlow Medal, alongside Collingwood'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.

Goodes played well in the 2005 Grand Final, kicked a goal and gathering 20 possessions as the Swans won their first premiership since 1933. He was also awarded life membership of the Swans after playing his 150th game during the year.

Goodes playing for Sydney in 2006

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.

In 2006 Goodes had another notable year and again won the Brownlow Medal. Goodes said of his performance, "I'd like to think with another couple of years in the midfield I could improve again.".

Goodes played his 250th game in 2009, against Geelong. He was arguably one of the best players throughout the 2009 season. He finished the season with 38 goals and averaged 21 disposals.

From 2007 to 2009 he played career best football in the eyes of some critics.

Goodes played his 300th AFL game when the Sydney Swans tackled Hawthorn in a 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 Medalist 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. This was his fourth selection in the team.

In 2011 Goodes started as the second favourite for the Brownlow but finished eighth overall, and won the 2011 Sydney Swans' Best and Fairest, beating Josh Kennedy and Rhyce Shaw, who tied for second.

Goodes broke the Sydney games record when he played his 304th AFL game with a strong contribution in the Swans' Round 5, 2012, victory over Hawthorn at York Park in Launceston, Tasmania. He played in his second premiership when Sydney defeated Hawthorn in the 2012 AFL Grand Final.

Retirement

Goodes during a lap of honour after winning the 2012 AFL Grand Final

Goodes announced his retirement after the 26-point semi-final loss to North Melbourne in 2015. He retired from AFL in September 2015.

Other activities

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. 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.

In September 2017 Goodes was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Sydney for his contribution to Australian society.

On 10 October 2023, Goodes was one of 25 Australians of the Year who signed an open letter supporting the Yes vote in the Indigenous Voice referendum.

Personal life

Adam married Natalie Croker in 2016. His first child Adelaide was born in 2018. His second child was born in 2021.

Interesting facts about Adam Goodes

• Goodes' father is of English, Irish and Scottish descent. His mother is an Aboriginal Australian (Adnyamathanha and Narungga).
• Goodes preferred soccer as a boy.
• He began to play Australian rules football at school as there was no soccer club for him to join.
• Goodes is the twelfth player to have won two or more Brownlow Medals, the first Aboriginal Australian to win two, and the first player to win two with a non-Victorian club.
• Goodes declined an invitation to be inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
• He was patron of the 2020 Indigenous Football Week, an event founded in 2015 by the John Moriarty Foundation, an organisation supporting young Indigenous soccer players.
• A painting of Goodes by Vincent Namatjira won the 2020 Archibald Prize. It was the first win by an Indigenous artist in the almost 100-year history of the Art Prize.

Adam Goodes quotes

• "Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to trust yourself."
• "It's not about where you come from, it's about where you're going."
• "You can't let success go to your head or failure go to your heart."
• "Don't let the noise of other people's opinions drown out your own inner voice."

Honours and achievements

Goodes holds an elite place in VFL/AFL history as a dual Brownlow Medallist, dual premiership player, four-time All-Australian, member of the Indigenous Team of the Century and representative of Australia in the International Rules Series. In addition, he has held the record for the most VFL/AFL games played by an Indigenous player, surpassing Andrew McLeod's record of 340 during the 2014 AFL season before having his own record surpassed by Shaun Burgoyne during the 2019 AFL season.

Football

Team

• AFL Premiership (Sydney): 2005, 2012
• McClelland Trophy (Sydney): 2014

Individual

• Brownlow Medal: 2003 (tied with Nathan Buckley and Mark Ricciuto), 2006
• Bob Skilton Medal: 2003, 2006, 2011
• All-Australian: 2003, 2006, 2009, 2011
• AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award: 2006
• Herald Sun Player of the Year Award: 2006
• Australian Football Media Association Player of the Year Award: 2006
• Australian Representative Honours in International Rules Football: 2001, 2010 (C)
• Indigenous All-Stars Representative Honours: 2003
• Sydney Swans Captain: 2009–2012
• Sydney Swans Leading Club Goalkicker Award: 2009–2011
• AFL Rising Star Award: 1999
• AFL Rising Star Nominee: 1999 (Round 2)
• Indigenous Team of the Century (centre half-back)

Other awards and recognition

• Australian of the Year: 2014
• Honorary Doctor of the university (DUniv) from the University of South Australia: 2019

Statistics

See also

• List of VFL/AFL players to have played 300 games
• List of VFL/AFL records