Simon Goodwin | Adelaide Football Club

Biography

AFC Debut Number: 77 AFC Debut Game: Round 1 v Brisbane, 1997

AFC Career Guernsey Number: 36

Few AFL players have been fortunate enough to play in two premierships in their first 25 games, with Simon Goodwin’s double slice of good luck early was only achieved after some challenging times. Although Goodwin impressed for South Adelaide in 1995, he was not among the 20 South Australians called at that year’s national draft. It seemed his promising cricket career, he captained the State under-19 side, would become his priority. That changed when Adelaide selected him at the February pre-season draft.

Injuries and illness stopped Goodwin from playing regularly in his first year at West Lakes and then the following year he copped a severe thigh injury in his AFL debut. However, he won back his spot later in the season and claimed a premiership medal in his tenth AFL game. A year later he had a second premiership medal.

Goodwin’s break-out year was 2000 when he evolved from a half-back flanker into a hardnosed, elite midfielder. He won his first of three Club Championships and was selected as All Australian for the first time. Four more selections would follow, including the veteran’s 2009 season. Those late years saw Goodwin captain the Crows from 2008-2010. In 2010 a lingering ankle injury meant he was unable to play out the season, however he shared a farewell lap of honour with Andrew McLeod, Brett Burton and Trent Hentschel at the end of the season. He was selected in the AFC Team of the Decade 1991-2000.

Predictably Goodwin slipped straight into the AFL coaching system. He was an assistant coach at Essendon for four years before Melbourne signed him as their senior coach in 2017. That same year he was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame, while he became an AFL Life Member in 2018 when he recorded his 300^th game as a player and coach. Goodwin’s legacy also lives on in the SA Football Hall of Fame and AFC Hall of Fame.

In 2021 he was selected as half forward in Adelaide’s “Best 22 of 30 Years”.

Stats

Season	No.	Games	Goals	Behinds	Kicks	Handballs	Disposals	Marks	Tackles
1996	36	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1997	36	10	4	1	93	26	119	32	25
1998	36	21	8	6	202	89	291	60	45
1999	36	19	2	2	148	77	225	49	17
2000	36	22	15	21	284	177	461	104	28
2001	36	23	16	11	370	149	519	73	90
2002	36	22	17	16	271	205	476	61	63
2003	36	19	13	12	208	137	345	62	43
2004	36	10	6	2	123	65	188	38	22
2005	36	24	20	12	313	233	546	107	64
2006	36	24	12	12	369	270	639	101	83
2007	36	21	10	8	268	248	516	91	53
2008	36	23	33	29	272	196	468	120	61
2009	36	21	4	2	220	328	548	119	46
2010	36	16	2	1	185	217	402	81	58
Totals	-	275	162	135	3326	2417	5743	1098	698