Todd Goldstein reveals why he knocked back Geelong offer to stay at North Melbourne
Desperate for ruck help, Geelong, through captain Joel Selwood and coach Chris Scott launched a raid on North Melbourne big man Todd Goldstein. Here’s why he said no.
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Joel Selwood might just be football’s most persuasive presence.
When one of the game’s most feared and admired characters wants something, he mostly gets it through sheer force of will.
So when the Cats sent coach Chris Scott down the highway in an all-out bid to drag Todd Goldstein to Geelong — to solve their ruck issues once and for all — they sent Selwood as well.
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Goldstein admitted it was hard not to be blown away by their compliments — the pair painting a wildly attractive picture of what his ruck skills would do for an already star-studded midfield.
“I had a little conversation with (Selwood), purely because we have the same manager (Tom Petroro) and I think he was able to get my number,” Goldstein told the Herald Sun this week.
“Yeah, I had a few different conversations with people, they were like anywhere that is trying to sell you something, very complimentary on how you fit in and that helps the confidence.
“It definitely gave me options and gave me confidence I would get a job somewhere.
“I don’t think any club like Geelong needs to do too much to pitch to you, they have got the runs on the board.
“They are very confident in what they do and they have had some success with players coming over but it was flattering to have conversations.”
No one in football would have begrudged Goldstein had he accepted a more lucrative, longer-term deal than offered by North Melbourne to secure his life after football.
Then something strange and unexpected happened.
Goldstein knocked them back.
Geelong had everything a player could want: a four-year deal, opportunity, big cash and stars on every line.
But they still didn’t have what North Melbourne has always had for Todd Goldstein.
“I love this footy club, I have grown up here and it has taught me a lot. And I am really excited about where we are headed,” he said, just days after returning to the club in such great shape he won the fitness-based yoyo test.
“(Being a one-club player) is great, it’s something I always looked at when I got here.
“People like Glenn Archer and Adam Simpson, they are the guys who showed me the North way and it’s something I want to pass down to future generations.
“Everyone needs to get their head around player movement. It is something we have to get used to, but if you can stay at your club and you have been there for 10 years-plus, like I have, you want to win a premiership at that club.”
So Goldstein, one of football’s most resilient and dependable ruckmen, passed up the extra season to sign a three-year deal which takes him through to 34 years of age.
“I was comfortable that three or four years wasn’t a big deal for me, but I knew I had lots of footy left in me,” he said.
“If I can have three years here and play well and then get another one or two, who knows?
“I didn’t want to go onto a one-year deal but it’s nice to know me and my family can play for the next three years.”
ROCK BOTTOM
That family has become more official in recent weeks, Goldstein marrying his partner Felicity Harrison during the off-season break.
Goldstein has admitted he hit rock bottom several years back amid the break-up of his first marriage, but has finally found the perfect balance between football and family.
“It was just a nice little (ceremony) in Studley Park. We wanted to go on a honeymoon so the best way to do that is get married and we organised it in a month,” he says with a laugh.
“It was very relaxed and very small. It was nice to get away and do nothing on an island after a long stressful year, we had a bit going on away from footy.
“I am in a really good place. It was a big reason for me wanting to stay at the club.
“I am in a good place because of the people surrounding me and there is no reason to change that.
“I have the support here and at home, I am enjoying footy and home and it makes a difference.”
Those dark days of 2017, as Goldstein battled in silence until finally getting help for his mental health battle, have been instructive as the league combats its own crisis.
He said a club that had to work through Majak Daw’s Bolte Bridge fall has genuinely tapped into the mental health needs of its players.
“That is the important thing, that we are starting to see that improvement (as a league),” he said.
“All the clubs are getting psychologists in once or twice or three times a week.
“The AFLPA have people we can go and see or we can go and see people eternally.
“It is one of those things, it’s a cultural thing, we all need to embrace that we don’t have to be macho, we can show our vulnerabilities.
“I saw a counsellor for a number of years away from footy and that was really helpful to deal with what was going on and that’s why I am someone who likes to talk about it when I can because the more I can show and people can show people.”
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That yoyo test win was Goldstein’s little statement to his teammates that he wasn’t going anywhere as one of footy’s elite ruckmen.
He needs just 66 games to become yet another Shinboner to hit 300 games.
But for Goldstein that would be only a fringe benefit of the ultimate prize.
“It is something I hadn’t thought about until I got into the 200s and then I thought, ‘Maybe it is a thing’,” he said.
“It would be a massive honour to get there and join the list of 300-gamers at this club.
“Arch and Simmo, Drewie (Drew Petrie), Shimma (Wayne Schimmelbusch). But in the end I want a premiership. It’s not necessarily 300 games, it’s a premiership first.”