THERE was a brief moment last week when Brendon Goddard thought his 250^th game milestone might have to wait a lot longer than he had originally hoped.  

When Goddard twisted his knee late in Essendon's last-minute win over Hawthorn, he feared the worst. He had already been through a knee reconstruction in 2007, and so knew it sometimes only takes an innocuous buckle for dire consequences.

Goddard got to the bench and had his knee checked by the club's medical team. He was cleared of any damage, returned to take part in the club's stirring win and is set for the 250^th game of his career, on Saturday against Carlton.

In an interview published in this week's AFL Record, the former Saint said he wasn't surprised by Essendon's early-season form (a close loss to the Sydney Swans after leading most of the game and a narrow victory over the defending premier) after half of the club's list had sat out the NAB Challenge.

"It was always somewhat of a test case, we know that we prepared as well as we could under difficult circumstances," he said.

"Those guys who didn't play any games trained as hard as they could to give themselves the best preparation for round one in terms of game intensity and fatigue. But there was always that uncertainty there because they hadn't played."

Goddard has been an extremely valuable recruit for Essendon since crossing from St Kilda at the end of 2012 as the first high-profile free agent to switch clubs. 

He said he had never doubted his decision to join the Bombers, despite their ASADA supplements dramas over the past two years.

"I get asked all the time. It's the No.1 question, but I've never ever once thought twice about the decision," Goddard said.

"The only time I ever sat back and asked myself 'Where am I?' was the first time I walked into Windy Hill for my first weights session.

"I had been in Colorado with the guys for two-and-a-half weeks so I had my introduction there. Then going to Windy Hill it really sunk in that I'd made a significant change in my life and a decision that would change the pattern of my life forever. But I didn't think 'What've I done?'"

Read the full interview in the round three edition of the AFL Record, available at all grounds.