BRENDON Goddard has warned Essendon fans he won't be the saviour who single-handedly turns around his new club's fortunes.
Having joined fellow Bombers midfielders on a high-altitude training camp in Colorado, Goddard has spoken for the first time since leaving St Kilda, in an interview conducted by the club for its website.
Click here for the full Goddard interview
The 27-year-old didn't address why he left the Saints, but did explain why he selected Windy Hill as his new home.
"I see the talent within the group and where they could go, that's obviously something that did appeal," Goddard told essendonfc.com.au.
"(It's about) what I can offer the footy club as a footballer, and what the footy club can offer me as a person, so summing all that up I thought Essendon was a really good choice.
"Obviously staying in Melbourne was one thing as well."
But Goddard insisted he wasn't the answer to everything.
"That's not the case at all; I'm here obviously to offer a bit. I'll do my best to win games of footy as well, but I'm not going to be the saviour at all.
"The development will come from the younger guys. With out sounding too big headish (sic), I think a lot of people know what they're going to get from myself and Jobe and Stants and the older guys."
Goddard's only real reference to his departure from St Kilda was when he talked about former coach Ross Lyon's "stable" defensive structure.
He said he thought that would be important at the Bombers.
"That was the thing that really changed St Kilda's game. With this group, the biggest upside is the defensive side of the game."
Captaincy had been something bandied about when the Saints were fighting to keep Goddard, and leadership will be an important part of his role at the Bombers.
"I don't have trouble with giving feedback and stuff like that, can be quite narky at times as a lot of people might know," he said.
"At the end of the day it's all about trying to get better, and yeah, I enjoy the leadership aspect of things.
"I always feel like I've got something to say and something to offer."
After talks with coach James Hird, Goddard said he would be spending 95 per cent of his time in the midfield next season, playing an inside midfield role, with the ability to rest up forward.
Joining his new teammates on the demanding US training camp, Goddard conceded touching the footy again was "quite foreign" after almost 10 weeks off.
He joked he did try to take a footy with him on his off-season holiday.
"I had a footy with me while I was away for a little bit, until it got confiscated by customs."
Matt Thompson is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter @MattThompsonAFL
