Essendon star recruit Brendon Goddard has spoken through tears about how much it still hurts to see his former AFL club St Kilda lose, even when he’s on the winning side.
In his first meeting with the Saints, Goddard was influential as Essendon comfortably won 19.14 (128) to 13.13 (91) at Etihad Stadium on Saturday to remain unbeaten on top of the ladder and leave St Kilda struggling at 1-3.
The win came at a cost, with the Bombers to lose star forward Michael Hurley to an ankle injury for Thursday’s Anzac Day meeting with Collingwood.
Goddard kicked the opening goal from a strong mark as part of a huge first term, which set the tone for Essendon’s win.
But during a post-match interview, he revealed how emotionally tied he still felt to the club with which he shared grand final defeats in 2009 and 2010.
“It’s a weird feeling, a unique situation,” Goddard, reduced to tears and struggling to talk, told Fox Footy.
“I’m emotional – I don’t know why. Obviously I love the footy club and they meant so much to me.
“And the boys – I don’t want to see them losing.”
Goddard had earlier been a virtual bystander as every other player on the field joined a halftime scuffle.
Bombers captain Jobe Watson (37 disposals, two goals) was again outstanding.
Hurley was carried off the ground in the third quarter and coach James Hird conceded that while Essendon will need X-rays to fully diagnose the injury, Hurley almost certainly won’t face the Magpies.
Suspended players Patrick Ryder and Nick Kommer will again be absent for that match.
But the Bombers hope Dustin Fletcher (groin) and late withdrawal Stewart Crameri (internal knee bleeding) will return.
And they were heartened by the performance of injury-prone late inclusion Scott Gumbleton, who booted four second-half goals in his first AFL game this year.
“It’s exciting – exciting for Scott and exciting for us,” Hird said.
He said father-son recruit Joe Daniher would be in contention for an Anzac Day debut.
The Saints also play on Anzac Day, against Sydney in Wellington, in the first AFL game outside Australia for premiership points.
Coach Scott Watters said his side had some key areas to work on, having been well beaten for the contested ball and badly hurt by the Bombers’ marking forwards, with Hurley, Gumbleton and Tom Bellchambers combining for nine goals.
But he said the work might be more theoretical than practical, given their five-day break, interrupted by a long flight.
“There’s mental reminders in the way that you train,” Watters said.
“Can we do a lot from a load perspective? No.
“But we can still put a few things on the table.”
