The game's best podcast: In The Game with Damian Barrett

MELBOURNE coach Simon Goodwin forced himself to answer many deep questions about his football club as it descended into disaster last year.

And then he forced himself to address the deepest question: "Who am I?"

In an interview for In The Game with Damian Barrett on AFL.com.au, Goodwin revealed a post-2019 season reset of his life.

"I went away to a health retreat in Bali, spent some time there just really looking at the body and the mind and really recharging it in a space that was unique to me, something I've never done before," Goodwin said.

"I found that really rewarding. And I've also spent some time with a range of other people from a personal perspective around a greater awareness of self and understanding where footy sits in your life and the value of that.

"But also looking at it from a more broader aspect about who is Simon Goodwin and what do I stand for and what I'm going to be moving forward."

01:14

Simon Goodwin: Who am I, what do I stand for?

In this excerpt from the In the Game podcast, Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin tells Damian Barrett about his summer of self-reflection

In his third season as coach of Melbourne, the Demons fell from a preliminary final finish in 2018, to 17th place.

Asked to expand on the answers derived from the soul-searching, Goodwin said:

"It's about winning on all levels of life - you know, footy is a small element in life and there's many other elements.

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"There is how you are as a father. There's how you live your life from a nutritional perspective, a spiritual perspective. What sort of awareness you have of other people. And they're all things that I've continued to work on.

"And I think I'm in a lot happier place than what I was 12 months ago. I feel recharged, energised, and I see footy for what it is - a game that I love.

"… As I said, there is Simon Goodwin as a football player, Simon Goodwin the coach. But that's what you do. What are you? There are other things in life that you can be really proud of. And win on different levels. So that's really been at the forefront of my mind. And I've certainly made some changes in that space and I feel more relaxed. And I have greater clarity in my work currently."

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In the In The Game interview, Goodwin also:

  • SAID the gains made at the Demons in 2017 and 2018 would not be lost amid the turmoil of last season;
  • FULLY endorsed his club's decision to publicly reveal a strategic plan revolving around making finals for the next four seasons, as well as winning a premiership in that timeframe;
  • EMPATHISED with Jack Viney, who has been replaced as captain by Max Gawn;
  • SAID Christian Petracca's back-half of 2019 combined with his work in the off-season had him poised to join the game's elite.