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'More than a star': How Adam Goodes inspired a future teammate

A young Tony Armstrong was excited to meet his hero, Adam Goodes, at the AFL’s Indigenous All-Stars camp and what followed inspired the then 20-year-old to tell his story.

Tony Armstrong for PlayersVoice

They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes. Those people mustn’t have looked up to Adam Goodes.

I vividly remember the first time I had the chance to shake the hand of one of the most important people in my life. It was on the AFL’s Indigenous All-Stars Camp.

I was a 20-year-old Adelaide Crows player trying to find my way in the game and the world. He was a two-time Brownlow Medal winner, premiership Swan, and leader in the community.

Tony Armstrong (pictured left) and Adam Goodes (pictured right).
Tony Armstrong (pictured left) and Adam Goodes (pictured right).

To be honest, Goodesy was more than that. He was a proud and passionate Indigenous man blazing a trail for kids like me.

The feeling in that room was overwhelming for me. I was in the midst of all the guys I had looked up to and continued to look up to. Chris Johnson was telling a story, Michael O’Loughlin was beaming, and then out of nowhere a presence glided into the space.

The handshakes were warmer and the smiles wider. Adam Goodes was here.

I waited in line, almost like I was getting an audience with the Queen, and then finally my moment came. I spat my name out, I think, and he then spent the next 10 minutes making me feel special, important and welcome.

I have been thinking about that moment often since I started thinking about writing this piece and reflecting on The Final Quarter, the documentary around the struggles of a man who was a hero and is now a mate.

I was there the night this ugly saga began. A lot of footy fans who followed my eight-year AFL career won’t be surprised that, as usual, I was an emergency for the Swans and watching the game from the MCG stands.

Goodesy was called an ‘ape’ by a member of the crowd. A 13-year-old girl in the crowd. Goodesy didn’t know her age, her background, her life’s challenges … he just knew what he heard wasn’t acceptable and pointed it out.

The fallout was disgusting, heartbreaking, eye-opening and took an incredible toll on Goodesy.

What was his problem? Why did he have to worry about what had happened? Get over it …

For the full extract visit PlayersVoice.