Sydney chairman Andrew Pridham on Adam Goodes’ absence from football

Sydney chairman Andrew Pridham has delivered an emotional address about Adam Goodes’ absence from football, declaring he mourns “the pain that the game put him through”.

Sydney chairman Andrew Pridham has used the 10th anniversary of Adam Goodes’ war dance to remind the AFL community of the star’s ongoing “pain” and the need to continue fighting for the indigenous cause.

Pridham said on Friday night that if the AFL community passed that test of inclusiveness one day Sydney great Goodes might return to the game that did him such a disservice.

And he made clear that more needed to be done to boost indigenous numbers in the AFL, which were at an “alarming” 19-year low.

He urged the AFL to consider innovative ideas but said clubs had to boost indigenous numbers in their academies instead of simply “harvest” talented kids already in the AFL pathway.

Pridham had only just become the Sydney chairman when Goodes was driven from the game, in part because of booing that escalated after his war dance at the SCG was badly misinterpreted.

Adam Goodes ahead of the AFL Indigenous Round in 2013.

The Herald Sun reported this week that Goodes was still a long way from a return to football despite the AFL’s overtures.

“Tonight is the anniversary of Adam’s celebration that turned into his pain. The anniversary of one of the moments that saw Australians collectively tested and challenged with respect to our attitudes and treatment of indigenous Australians,” Pridham said at his chairman’s address.

“Importantly, he is not lost to the Sydney Swans. I am proud to count Adam as a friend. I am delighted that he is enjoying so much happiness and success in this football retirement. But I mourn the pain that the game put him through. I hope that one day we can heal this pain.

Goodes performs an Indigenous war dance during a game. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“It is Adams’s ongoing connection to our club and his teammates that gives me hope that in time we can all be better and we can all pass this test. And if we can do this then I am confident that in time Adam and other indigenous players who feel that our game has let them down can feel safe enough to once again embrace the fans and the game itself.”

SAdam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin with Keiren Jack in 2016.

Pridham said the AFL’s clubs and AFL House had to work together to develop indigenous boys and girls to their “fullest potential”.

But he said the measure of that success would be identifying kids who would “not otherwise be playing AFL or who do not have access to appropriate development opportunities.”

“The Next Generation academies are one approach to assist in identifying and developing talent. It is critical that these academies do the work and not simply harvest kids that are otherwise in the AFL system simply because they are in a certain talent zone.

“Importantly, I applaud all approaches to grow the pool of indigenous talent for the sake of the kids themselves, their communities and of course the fans.”

Originally published as Sydney chairman Andrew Pridham on Adam Goodes’ absence from football