Brendon Goddard has revealed he was “desperate” to stay at St Kilda, but a phone call with former head of football Chris Pelchan extinguished any hope of him continuing at the club.
Goddard, who played 205 games for the Saints after being selected with pick No.1 in the 2002 draft, was traded to the Bombers at the end of the 2012 season.
Pelchan and St Kilda’s hierarchy wouldn’t budge on their contract offer to Goddard after he told the club he wanted to stay right up to the 11th hour.
“Leaving St Kilda, I rang Chris Pelchan,” Goddard told AFL Trade Radio’s Trade Mornings.
“I said, ‘I want to stay, you know I want to stay, I’m desperate to stay’, right up to the 11th hour.
“I was on the driving range at Metropolitan Golf Course, I went there to clear my head and make a decision.
“I said, ‘Offer me a fair and reasonable contract that you know is fair and reasonable. I’m fair and reasonable, Craig Kelly and TLA are fair and reasonable’.
“He (Pelchan) goes, ‘Mate, there’s no other deal. It’s done’. I said, ‘Thanks, that’s what I needed to hear’. That was the end of it.
“I called ‘Hirdy’ (James Hird) and Essendon and Dan (Richardson) my manager at the time straight after and said, ‘I’m in, I’m going to Essendon’.”
Goddard retired at the end of 2018 after playing 334 AFL games across 16 seasons with the Saints and Bombers.
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