Brendon Goddard expects former teammate Joe Daniher to be a Sydney player in 2021

Despite refusing to trade him last off-season, Joe Daniher’s days at Essendon are numbered according to former teammate Brendon Goddard. And the COVID-19 crisis hasn’t helped the Bombers at all.

Joe Daniher and Brendon Goddard sing the Essendon song after a win. Picture: Getty Images

Brendon Goddard says he expects Joe Daniher to be a Sydney player in 2021, believing the COVID-19 crisis will allow him easier passage to the Harbour City.

Daniher has made a strong recovery from off-season groin surgery after last year’s trade to the Swans fell through but has made no commitments to the Dons as a 2020 free agent.

His 2016 captain Goddard is on record as believing Daniher did not devote himself to his recovery in the early days of his groin problem but remains a friend.

Brendon Goddard speaks to the SACKED PODCAST this week – with the must-listen episode dropping on Friday.

Goddard told the Herald Sun’s Sacked podcast he still has no doubts Daniher will attempt to leave again as a free agent.

“Yep, and (the talk about professionalism) is nothing against him. Whatever I said then it’s not like I hadn’t told him before,” he said.

“I had told him that but it’s almost like the perfect setting for him to go.

“It’s almost forgotten, if this season doesn’t eventuate or it’s compromised. He was so set on it last year. Now with no footy played or if the club hasn’t had a chance or the team hasn’t had a chance to get him back.

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Joe Daniher and Brendon Goddard talk during an Essendon match in 2014. Picture: George Salpigtidis

“If he feels like that, yeah I am disappointed. I don’t hold it against him and if that’s the way he feels and wants to do that, that’s OK.”

In October last year Goddard said Daniher “owed the club”, stating: “At the time I didn’t think he dedicated himself hard enough to recovering and rehab and giving himself the best chance to get up and play and get himself right.”

Goddard says it is hard to pinpoint why Essendon has not made finals since 2004 – apart from the much-scrutinised drug scandal – but says when he arrived it was obvious the training standards were poor.

“There is a huge expectation from members because of the rich history they have had and rightly so,” he said.

“The culture in terms of training wasn’t great when I arrived. It was the thing that hit me really quickly. At the Saints we were animals. Everyone who came into the team from other clubs or fitness staff said, ‘You guys train unbelievable’.

“When I got there (Essendon) that’s the expectation I had. It was a bit of a shock and I was a bit like, ‘You guys have progressed this well with these standards?’”

Ironically, Goddard says Jobe Watson was one of the worst trainers when he arrived despite winning a Brownlow Medal in 2012. However, he believes the star midfielder lost his power when he became a better runner.

“Jobe would admit it, Jobe was horrible training. Horrible. Horrible,” he said.

“He improved by the time I arrived but he boys reckon four years prior to when I arrived he was horrendous.

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“What he did was extraordinary and the lack of running he did and his ability to win the ball.

“There is a funny story with Hirdy that they had lost the game by a few goals and he went through the team and read the GPS results out. It was the year Jobe won the Brownlow.

“He called one of the guys ‘Spaghetti Arms’ and said, ‘You need to get into the gym and work on that’.

“And he got to Jobe and he didn’t say what he had run but he said, ‘You could probably work a bit harder defensively’. Jobe has had 35 (touches) and kicked three (goals).

“The boys looked at the GPS afterwards and he had run like 6.8kms.

“He never ran. He was so clean and read the play so well and when he became the fittest he had ever been he lost his big arse and thighs which was what drove his ability in tight spaces. So in hindsight, stick to your strengths and we will cover for you.”

Originally published as Brendon Goddard expects former teammate Joe Daniher to be a Sydney player in 2021