The Assembly (2024) s01e05 Episode Script
Adam Goodes
1
LEIGH SALES: Fletcher, how are you
doing? Chau, how are you?
I'll just I'll just stay seated
when I ask my questions.
It's up to you, Chau. You just do
whatever you feel comfortable with.
Whatever you like.
We've got some good questions today.
It should be good.
You look nice today, Leigh.
Thanks very much, Abbey.
He's coming! Oh, my God.
Everybody, this is Adam.
Hey.
WOMAN: Hello, Adam.
ADAM: How are we doing?
MAN: Good.
There's a few worried people
upstairs here
worried about their jobs at the ABC
because of you guys.
(LAUGHTER)
(GASPS) Wow. He's so tall.
Oh. This is nice.
MAN: My dad thinks you're a legend,
by the way.
Yes. Alright. I'm happy with that.
This is a nice audience, isn't it?
Hey?
MAN: Hello, Adam.
We are a collective of
autistic journalism students,
and we are very happy
to have you join us today.
Our rules are,
no subject is out of bounds,
no question is off the table,
and anything might happen.
Welcome to The Assembly.
Thanks, Mitch.
(APPLAUSE)
I didn't know I had to agree
to those rules beforehand.
(LAUGHTER)
MAN: Quiet on set.
And action.
For the first time in Australia,
autistic students are undertaking
an autism-friendly introduction
to journalism course.
They will be mentored by
one of Australia's best journalists
and attend classes at university.
What is journalism
and why is it important?
To test their skills,
the students will interview some
of Australia's most famous people.
WOMAN: To get behind the spin
Wow, this is big.
..to find the real person.
What was school like for you?
You are 40 this year. Any plans
Oh, Jackson. (LAUGHS)
Do you love your husband?
That is a beautiful question.
When you have to look terrified
in a movie,
what are you thinking about?
That's a really good question.
ALL: We are The Assembly!
This Oh, my goodness.
One and a two
MAN: Alright. Let's get the show
on the road.
Let's get this show on the road.
Yeah. Stephanie. Whoo!
You look beautiful in your blazer.
Sit here.
Yeah, sure. Sit here.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
Hi, everyone!
Hello, Leigh.
How's everyone today?
Good.
Are you all excited about this week?
MAN: Stoked.
OK. Now, our next guest.
He is an absolute legend
of Australian sports.
He's also a former
Australian of the Year.
He does some incredible work around
Indigenous literacy and education.
He's got two Brownlow Medals,
which is a very prestigious
sporting award that you can get.
The next guest is Adam Goodes.
(ALL EXCLAIM)
What a good guest.
Whoo!
Yes, it'sit's
an incredible opportunity
to meet a legend of his
respective sporting code.
COMMENTATOR: On the greasy turf.
And then
Goodes! Awesome mark.
COMMENTATOR: What about that mark?
The Brownlow medallist.
COMMENTATOR: Have a look
at this piece of magic.
COMMENTATOR: He's just got
to love him, don't you?
They've done it! What a team.
That's what it's all about.
MAN: Number 37. Adam Goodes.
WOMAN: Wow.
WOMAN: Ooh!
I don't know much about sports.
That's OK.
Another way you can think about it is
sport is kind of a bit like life,
in that there's highs, there's lows,
there's drama.
Oh!
Everyone's looking at you.
50,000 people looking at you.
Oh, no.
What do you all think?
What are your early thoughts
about Adam?
What does he do to make himself
more calm
after he's been through
a lot of hard times
with people being racist?
ADAM: Here a 13-year-old girl
called me an ape.
It's not her fault.
She's 13.
She's still so innocent.
I don't put any blame on her.
That's right. What tools does he use
to stay calm and even?
That's a great question.
I think we should think
really broadly about
all sorts of things
that we could ask Adam.
Why don't we split into groups?
Then I can work with everyone a bit
individually.
And I'm at the front.
He looks different now
with a ponywith a man bun.
OK.
A book author.
How's everyone's prep been going?
Um, I guess I'm trying
to make mine creative.
The best way to get somebody
who's been interviewed a lot
to be engaged in the interview
is to ask them something
they've never been asked before.
MAN: Do you like real swans?
I think that would be good.
I'd be interested to know
what he said.
Oh! I got a good one.
So, OK, the questions I got was,
um
When the kid called you an ape,
were you eager to call her back
another name?
No, that's no good.
Well, I'm not sure, like
That isn't a good question.
We can think about it.
Have you ever been called names?
Oh! Oh, yeah. Trust me.
How did you feel
when people called you names?
I was heartbroken.
I cried.
Whenever I see a teenager,
I would probably run away and hide.
Yeah. (SNIFFS)
I'm 20 years old.
I like gaming, collecting plushies.
And my dream job is to become
a voice actor.
How did you know about that?
That's not how it happened.
Some people just don't understand
autism much,
and they just see it
as an opportunity just to, like,
bully someone.
And here is my gaming room.
I think the reason why I like gaming
is entertaining.
It gets me out of the real world
and makes me focus on
something else.
I do worry what people
will think of me.
Like, am I good? Am I smelly?
Am I, um
Do I look weird?
I just want people to think
I'm human.
I'm a person that's living
and having challenges
and want to be talked to.
I'm doing this course because
I want to boost up my confidence,
because I think my confidence
has gone down way too much.
I'm hoping my questions are good.
They are, Anastasia. They're great.
Nailed it.
(LAUGHS)
I think doing this course
makes me feel more of a human
and more of a person.
Hugging Delta
Well done, beautiful.
Talking to Hamish.
Talking to the Prime Minister.
They know what I'm going through
and they know what's happening
in my life.
And the Prime Minister
shook my hand.
Like, how
How many chances of a life
you got with that?
Yeah.
What are you thinking, Andrew?
What types of plants
do you have in your garden?
Yeah, great.
I thought that was good.
Me and Bethany are going
to give him a treat.
I saw that.
Afterwards, me and Bethany working
on a thankyou speech for you.
Great. Oh, that's so nice.
I'm going to give Adam a grevillea
because I know that he loves
planting trees.
I think asking a plant question
is definitely good
if you're going to give him
a present of a plant later.
I just think plants are wonderful
and they make you happy.
Welcome to my home.
And I'm going to show you
some plants.
This plant here is a monstera
that I propagated.
I just love monsteras.
I just love the way
the leaves are bright.
This one here is a devil's ivy.
This is an anthurium.
This is a syngonium.
Epipremnum snow queen.
Another monstera.
Calathea. Silver sword.
Satin pothos.
Another thing I love enjoying
doing is my advocacy.
And I'd like to take you into
my special advocacy sensory room.
I have spoken at many conferences,
and I spoke in Singapore
at the Asia Pacific Conference,
which was really unique,
because I made a video of my life
where it was from when I was little
to today,
with all my achievements I've done.
Over here I've got,
when I was with Special Olympics,
I've got all my medals.
Autism means to me
a different way of thinking.
I am not broken.
I have a different perspective
on the world.
I think we need more journalists
with autism out there
to hear our perspective
and know what we can do.
Alright. Silas.
Alright.
Had you heard of Adam Goodes before?
UmI knew who he was
Right.
..but I didn't know who he was.
And are you a sporting person?
No, I'm anti sport.
We need to stop it immediately.
(LAUGHS)
It's super interesting to watch
the students' progress.
They are getting better at working
out how to come up with questions.
I love this bunny that you've drawn.
If you're interested in art,
Adam Goodes
Somebody painted a portrait of him
for the Archibald Prize.
He's actually had to pose, and an
artist has done a painting of him.
And then for others, I think
it's more to do with confidence.
Got heaps of good stuff there,
Jackson, to work with. Well done.
So it's just It's really lovely.
So you're a Swans fan.
Yeah.
Is there anything specific
to ask about
..being a fan,
about being a Swans fan?
There's a very big kind of, like,
sense of community.
The fans can be very passionate.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
MAN: Whoo-hoo!
I've only just started watching
AFL live.
My partner and his family
really like AFL,
and it kind of gives me, like,
a way to bond with them.
It's also very kind of, like,
atmospheric in a way.
Kind of, like, you're sharing
this one kind of big thing
with, like, a whole bunch
of other people.
OK. You ready?
One. Two. Three.
No! Oh, no.
I'll do it to you, Fletcher. Ready?
Oh. Good catch.
Yay!
I feel really excited
to interview Adam.
I think we'll get
some interesting answers.
There's 20 seconds on the clock.
We're down by one point.
We need a goal to win.
Come on!
But anything can happen
in these interviews, so we'll see.
ALL: (CHANT) Jackson! Jackson!
Jackson! Jackson!
Oh, my God!
Oh, no!
(ALL LAUGH)
Shoots and scores.
Oh, Belinda's got to fix me up
'cause I've been into them.
Into the Monte Carlos.
MAN: Are you first up?
It's Dale today first.
WOMAN: Oh, OK.
How are you going?
I'm good. How are you?
Good. Thank you for coming in.
Thanks for having me.
You're going to have a ball,
I reckon.
This is a nice audience, isn't it?
Hey?
Alright, everyone,
let's get ready to jump into it.
Stephanie, would you like
to kick us off
and give our inclusion statement?
WOMAN: Thank you.
This is a safe space.
Everyone can relax
and be themselves.
You can fidget, move around,
and take breaks if you need.
Please do what you need to join in.
There will be no judgement.
Thank you.
Thanks, Steph.
Do you want to pass the mike to Dale?
Thank you.
Hello, Adam.
This is actually a cool moment
because my dad also met you
many years ago in Sydney.
This is kind of generational
meeting you.
Making me feel very young.
Thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
It was actually last week. Sorry.
Oh. That's OK.
Yeah, yeah.
You've mentioned in a few articles
that your mum is your biggest
role model in life.
My mum is also my biggest
role model,
and she has taught me
many great life lessons in life.
What is something that your mum
taught you
that you still use to this day?
Yeah, the biggest thing for me that,
you know, my mum has taught me
is to be kind,
and that is, even at the heart of,
you know,
being in the worst
possible situations,
you still being kind really shows
who you are as a person.
I think that's really important.
We all can get tired, angry,
frustrated.
Even in those moments,
you can still bring kindness.
And I think that's really important.
I'm really grateful for my mum
being able to
teach me and show me
the importance of that.
100%. Mums know best and to
For them to teach you young is like
the best thing they can do for you.
You once said in a quote, that
"the football field is a place
where I could express myself
"and just be me."
You've now retired from AFL
and you don't go
on a football field anymore.
Where is that place for you now?
Yeah, it's a really good question.
So I'm very lucky.
Retiring from football,
you know, I could do anything
that I wanted to be.
I founded and started
an Indigenous business,
and we work with other Indigenous
businesses, over 140 of those.
And I absolutely love
the work that I do.
And that gives me a place
to keep my culture strong.
But more importantly, it gives me
an opportunity to do something
that a lot of First Nations people
haven't had the opportunity to do,
and that's create wealth
through business.
And that, to me, is something
that can really change the way that,
from a self-determination point
of view for Indigenous Australians,
the way that we contribute to,
you know, mainstream Australia,
but more importantly,
contribute to uplifting ourselves.
Thank you so much
for answering that question.
And thank you.
Thanks, Dale.
(APPLAUSE)
Angus.
Oh, gosh, I've never been
MAN: Here you go, Angie boy.
(WOMAN LAUGHS)
Thanks, Fletchy boy. Hi, Adam.
Hey, Angus.
Firstly, congrats on being
the first guest on the show
who is taller than
Andrew and Bethany.
(LAUGHTER)
Yeah.
WOMAN: Oh! Oh.
It's close.
Back to back! Back to back!
I do have my heels on today, though.
WOMAN: You and Andrew
are just, just
Oh, wow.
I feel small.
Actually, it was closer than
I thought between you two, so
(LAUGHS) OK.
Um, if AFL didn't exist,
is there any other sport you believe
you could have gone pro in?
I love playing mixed netball.
Same! No way!
Yeah.
Yeah, I did. It was so much fun.
But if sport wasn't going to be
where I ended up,
I really wanted to be an architect.
WOMAN: Oh, wow.
I did two weeks work experience
in Year 10.
Unfortunately,
they didn't motivate me.
I learnt how to make coffees,
lick envelopes, um,
which waswhich was pretty sad,
but something that
I'm really proud of
is that passion of mine
has not gone away.
Um, and recently I helped build
and design our family home,
which we moved into a year ago.
So I was able to, you know,
do the things I wanted to.
But, um, you know,
there's always those sliding door
moments in our lives
that, you know, you could have done
this, could have went that way.
But, you know, I'm really happy
with the choices I've made.
It's been a goodes path to take.
(LAUGHTER)
Thanks, Adam.
Thanks, Angus.
Stephanie, would you like to ask
your questions?
Hello.
Hi.
As we all know,
each game can be different.
When you have a bad game,
how do you stay on the field
and talk to the fans
and journalists?
I never have a bad game, Stephanie.
(LAUGHTER)
What are you talking about?
You got any games in particular
you're talking about there,
journalist?
Just like this group here,
this is a team.
And what I love about
playing a team sport is that,
you know, when we lose,
I can blame everybody else.
(LAUGHTER)
Yeah.
No. The thing about team sports
and being in a team
is that you have to play your role.
And I'm the first person
to put up my hand and say,
"I didn't play my role.
I let the team down."
And that's what would drive me
the next training session,
the next game.
And that was the best thing about
professional sport,
or playing any sport,
that even though you might have had
the worst game on Saturday,
there's another game coming up
on Friday or Saturday or Sunday,
you've got another opportunity
to do something positive about it,
and that starts
on the training track
and sometimes it starts
by acknowledging
I played bad, but that's OK.
OK. Do you have any unconventional
or strange snack pairings?
Oh. Do you?
Well, I used to enjoy, um, uh,
ketchup on mac and cheese,
might get me in trouble.
Ooh No.
As long as you're doing it
behind closed doors, you can do
(LAUGHTER)
You can do whatever you like.
So I like to get
double-coated Tim Tams.
MAN: Oh, yeah.
Bite a little corner off the top.
And then eat the whole bottom of it.
And then glass of milk.
Yes.
Suck Suck that through
until it's nice and soft
and then slowly eat it.
Tim Tam Slam.
Is that what you call it?
There's a name for it?
There's an actual name for it.
Oh, wow. Damn. I've been doing that.
What else do I love? So
Don't tell anyone.
This is the most un-Australian thing
I'm going to say today.
I love Promite.
Oh, no.
Yeah.
I do love Vegemite.
Where's the camera?
I do love Vegemite.
Um
Vegemite.
But it's not as
I don't use it as diversely
as I do my Promite.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for coming today.
Thanks, Stephanie.
It's been a pleasure.
You're amazing.
Here you go.
Thanks.
Adam Goodes,
I have a first question.
Do you want your kids
to play football?
I would love my
I would love my children to do
whatever they want to do, Dylan.
If that's AFL, netball, chess,
dancing, whatever it might be,
I think I want them
to try everything,
and for them to figure it out
themselves.
Mm-hm.
Do you think you are hot?
(LAUGHTER)
I feelI feel very hot today.
I feel like a lot of people
are looking at me
and it could make me feel
a little bit warmer.
Is that what you meant?
Yes.
(LAUGHS)
Yeah, yeah.
Dare I ask, Dylan?
Do you think I'm hot?
Yep.
(LAUGHTER)
It is hot in here, isn't it?
Yeah, I know.
That makes me real blushy.
(LAUGHTER)
Thank you for that question, Dylan.
Evie, it's your turn,
if you'd like to ask your questions
of Adam.
WOMAN: Come on, Evie, you can do it.
I believe in you.
Um, I don't know how
I'm gonna live up to that.
Um
Uh, OK, so my first question, um
What was school like for you
as an Indigenous person?
So my mum, she was part of
the Stolen Generation,
so she was taken away
when she was five
and put into a white family
in Adelaide,
so we lost the clear connect
of culture,
connection to language, customs, and
really where our people came from.
As Mum got older,
she was slowly introduced
to her brothers and sisters.
So Mum was one of ten.
So my early childhood
and teenage life
was about meeting and moving
to see them.
So I went to six different
primary schools
and three different high schools.
So as you can imagine, going
to different schools can be tough,
and being Indigenous can be
even tougher, doing that.
But we always did it with my two
younger brothers and always my mum,
so that's what made it a lot easier.
And I think what made it easier
for me too, Evie,
was that me and my brothers,
we just love playing sports.
So anytime a ball came out,
you know,
we could run, we could jump,
we could kick it.
And that really helped break down
the barriers for us to,
in a way, be accepted
into those schools and communities
where we were.
But, you know, I look back
at my schooling life now
and I loved it.
I got to be around my friends.
I got to learn so much.
I was challenged, I was challenged
quite a lot, in the classroom.
But I think those challenges
helped me for the
..the challenges of life
that we're in now.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you.
Thank you, Evie.
Hello, Adam Goodes.
Have you ever tried dot painting?
I did it at high school
and it's very relaxing.
Press, press, press.
Yes, yes. Press, press, press.
I haveI have tried
dot painting, Savanna.
I enjoyed it.
I thought I made lots of mistakes,
but what I love about being creative
is
The mistakes, actually, are
what makes the painting great.
Um, I did a lot of dot painting
on footballs, on AFL footballs,
which we would then sell
for charity, for my foundation,
but it was something
that my mum taught me.
Mum used painting as a way to relax,
but more importantly,
a way for her to reconnect
withwith her culture,
being an Aboriginal woman.
Out of all of your awkward moments,
what is the most awkward moment
you've ever had?
Oh, do you have any
Do you have any awkward moments
for me that come to mind?
I just have to remember them,
and I'm not scared to tell them.
Yes. OK.
Well, maybemaybe
I'll take that question back.
Um
MAN: You go, girl.
So in 2006, we lost the grand final
to the West Coast Eagles,
and we lost by a point.
And when the siren went, and the MCG
with 100,000 people watching,
I was so heartbroken that we lost
that I just was bawling my eyes out.
I was soso shattered
that we'd lost the grand final.
And I cried probably
for about 15 minutes.
And I think back at that now
A long time to cry.
..and it makes me
a little bit awkward
because a lot of my mates still send
me memes of me crying like that,
which are quite
which I find funny.
It's OK. I can laugh at myself
as well.
It wasn't too traumatic for me,
but I look back at it and go,
maybe I didn't need to cry
for as long as I did,
but at that moment it was
That was my whole world.
My whole world was about
winning premierships
and I just missed out on
winning another one by one point,
and that was really hard for me.
Have you ever ridden a horse
in the outback at sunset or sunrise?
Or on a beach?
Could be on a beach. Have you
ridden one on a beach instead?
I have, I have ridden one
on a beach, actually, in Broome.
I've ridden camels up there.
Oh, nice.
Very, very cute.
Thank you, Savanna.
Fletcher, you're up next.
You used to play your soccer, right?
I'm having a little bit of trouble
controlling my breathing
every time I get the ball and steal
the ball going into the goals.
How do you control your breathing
after all that running around
when you play sports?
Because I really need some advice.
One thing that really helps me
with my breathing
is I like to meditate.
So even when we're just sitting
here now, I'm a little bit nervous,
but I relax myself
with my deep breathing.
So every time before I answer,
I take a (INHALES) ..deep breath,
and that helps relax me
a little bit.
And one thing
when I was at training,
I always used this little trick that
when I was playing sport,
I would (INHALES)
Every time I inhaled,
I was inhaling courage.
And then every time I exhale
(EXHALES) ..I was
..I was letting go of all the fear
that I had in my body,
and that just really relaxed me.
And hopefully that helps you.
Thank you.
You would love to laugh.
And I love to laugh a LOT!
(LAUGHTER)
Can you tell us about
what makes you laugh?
I think what really makes me laugh
now is my children.
I have three young children.
Adelaide, who's nearly five,
Otis is two,
and Leroy, who just turned one.
And every time that I go
into their rooms in the morning
and they're a little bit sleepy,
and I wake them up,
and they always put a smile on their
face, and that just makes me laugh,
because I'm the first person that
they get to see to start the day,
and it makes me really happy.
So
Aw
..and they always do silly things
that make me laugh as well.
Yeah.
Thank you.
So thank you. Thank you very much.
No, thank you.
Thanks, Fletcher.
(APPLAUSE)
Hello, Adam.
Um, if you could make any food
the national dish of Australia,
what would it be?
Oh, that's really good. Have
you ever tried a witchetty grub?
No, but I actually want to,
because I watched a video about it,
and I was like,
they actually look good.
I've never tried it either,
so maybe we should try something
A national dish. You know what?
So
I'm a sucker for a lamington,
I have to say.
Lamingtons,
they're already up there.
The meat pie. It's already up there.
You know, I'm as Aussie
as you can get.
I love those things. Yeah.
Yeah. Lovely. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you.
Jackson, you're up next.
Thank you.
G'day.
Hey, Jackson.
I stand up for myself
when people are mean to me,
or when they treat me
like I'm different.
What's it like standing up
for yourself
and teaching people
to stand up to racism?
Mm. It's hard to stand up
for yourself.
Um, it really is.
But I always was taught, you know,
by my mum,
that nobody else is going
to stand up for you,
so you do it for yourself.
And sometimes standing up
for yourself is actually
literally just standing up
and walking away.
And for me, for a long period
of time, that was the way
that I was able to stand up for
myself, was to extract myself
from a very toxic situation
until I had the courage
and confidence,
but more importantly, the words
to articulate
how they were making me feel
and to also challenge them
on what they were saying.
Mm.
Now, that's brave.
Thank you, Jackson.
Anastasia, it's your go.
Thank you.
Alright, alright. Hello? Yeah. Hi.
(LAUGHS)
I play soccer,
like when you were a kid.
And there's someone there
that annoys me a lot.
Did anyone annoy you
when you were playing soccer,
and what did you do about it?
Yeah, I kicked them in the shins.
(LAUGHTER)
That's what I was
No, I didn't!
Good on you.
I didn't do that.
It was an accident.
(LAUGHTER)
No, I think the best thing about
playing sports is
when somebody is doing that
and annoying you,
they're doing that because
you're a really good player
and they're really trying
to get you off your game.
It does actually
If I think about it, it does
actually make kind of great sense.
Yeah, it does, because
that's what they're trying to do.
They're trying to stop you
from doing that.
So the best thing you can actually
do is keep doing what you're doing.
Mm. Um
No, that onethat one's
just too weird.
I'll be the judge of that.
(LAUGHS) UmOK. Um, OK.
My next question is,
what is your favourite dance move?
ALL: Oh!
Dance move.
Are you a dancer?
Yeah, I am.
See
Oh! Look out! Hey!
WOMAN: Go, Anastasia!
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you.
I can't compete with that.
Yeah, I think my favourite dance
move that I've ever done was
..with my wife,
and we did the Dirty Dancing one
when she ran at me
and I lifted her up.
Do you want to try?
(ALL EXCLAIM)
(LAUGHS)
I'm joking, I'm joking.
I haven't
Oh, I see, I see
(LAUGHS) Yeah.
Oh, my goodness. OK.
Do I ask another question?
If you want to.
OK.
Um, when you pass away, do you think
you'll meet your mum there?
ALL: Aw
II definitely will.
So we had a special ceremony
for Mum.
She wanted to be cremated.
We, then, a year later, we asked
the council down in South Australia
if we could release Mum's ashes
off the jetty at Glenelg.
So my brothers and I, we jumped
in the water and we swam out about,
oh, about 50m from the jetty
and had a special ceremony,
us three boys there.
And then we let Mum go and then
we could slowly see it drift away
and it was really special.
Um, have you guys seen Moana?
Yes. Moana 2 teaser trailer
just came out.
I know.
I'm so excited for that movie
to come out!
So a very special moment happened
that when we were swimming back
and about to climb up the stairs
Remember when Moana's grandma
passes away,
and then you see the spirit
go through the air
and then dive into the water
as a stingray?
So as we are coming back
to the stairs,
this beautiful stingray comes
swimming up underneath us.
And we were just like, wow.
There's Mum just saying goodbye to
us and that she's going to be OK.
So that was pretty cool.
So, yes, I hope that I do.
And I will be going to see Mum,
A little bit later, though.
Anastasia.
Yeah. Yeah, definitely.
I'm in no rush.
We're not doing this now.
(APPLAUSE)
Thanks, Anastasia.
Oh, OK. Um
Your player for the Sydney Swans
at the time was number 37.
Is there a story behind you
being number 37,
and what does the number 37
mean to you?
Yeah, I was actually 37
when I was drafted.
Oh.
No, I'm just joking.
(LAUGHTER)
That would have been
That would have been pretty cool.
I was actually 17 when I was drafted
to the Sydney Swans
straight out of high school, I know,
so they assigned me number 37
when I first got there.
And what was really exciting
about that was
when I stood in front of my locker,
there was only one person's name
on the locker,
and that name was Bert Lucas.
And to get your name on the locker,
you had to achieve certain things
throughout your career.
Play 100 games,
you get your name on the locker.
Win a Brownlow Medal,
you get your name on the locker.
If you win a premiership,
you get your name on the locker.
So all of those things meant that
you could get your name
on the locker.
And I thought I wanted to get
my name as the second person ever
on number 37.
So I decided to keep it, Mitch.
Yeah, great number as well.
Not by Not just because
you played for them,
but by the way, do you like
the actual swan birds?
Like, do you like real swans?
Oh, I love that question, Mitch.
So, growing up as
a Aboriginal person,
I actually didn't know that
how I was connected to my people
or where my tribe was from.
So when I was reconnected back
to my Adnyamathanha ancestry,
the Black Swan totem
was gifted to me.
And that was after being playing
at the Swans for nearly 10 years.
So that was the totem
that was gifted to me.
So I do love swans.
I think they're so beautiful
and elegant.
Just don't go near them when they've
got theirtheir babies around.
They can be quite aggressive.
Yeah. Same with magpies.
Oh, yes. We don't like magpies.
(LAUGHTER)
WOMAN: No, we don't like
the magpies.
MAN: Collingwood, boo.
Um, what's the weirdest thing
you've had to sign?
One person asked me to sign
a mouthguard,
and I, like, I was signing
the mouthguard.
I was like,
whose mouthguard is this?
And they said,
"This is one of your old ones."
And I was like, what?
(LAUGHTER)
Where did you
Where did you get that from?
And I was like, signing it going,
"This is really weird."
(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
What is your favourite thing
about yourself?
Ooh. Dylan, what's my favourite
thing about
(LAUGHTER)
Is it my eyes?
Your eyes.
Yeah, it's the eyes.
I think what I, um, really love
about myself, Abbey,
is the colour of my skin.
Mmm.
Because it is different
to a lot of people.
But also there was times in my life
where I wasn't happy
with the colour of my skin.
So every time that I see myself
and I see that I'm different,
it reminds me of how proud I am
to be different.
Mmm.
Versus the times in my life where
this was used to single me out
for being different.
So I think now being proud
of something that was
at a certain point in my life
negative,
something that
I'm super proud about,
and um, yeah, really excited
to, you know,
keep wearing that
as a badge of honour.
MAN: Aw.
What is something
on your bucket list?
Ooh.
One thing about playing
professional sport
was I had to make a lot of
sacrifices during that time.
Sacrifices, seeing family, going to
friends' weddings, funerals.
I wasn't able to travel around
the world when I wanted.
I could only ever travel
at the end of a football season.
So the bucket list for me now
having children, Abbey,
is to take them to Disneyland.
That's on my bucket list.
Maybe we can go together.
Oh, you never know.
(APPLAUSE)
(LAUGHS)
Chau, it's your go.
CHAU: My turn.
I'll stay seated. I'll stay seated.
A lot of time autistic people
are often picked last for sport.
Sometimes not picked at all.
What advice do you give
for people who are autistic
and want to play sport?
You know, I'd talk about
our football club,
we would always have to pick teams,
and I made it my passion that
always the people that were picked
last at our football club for teams,
I would pick them first.
WOMAN: Oh.
Um
Because I was always that person
at the new school that I went to
that was picked last.
And it feels It feels crap,
doesn't it? You know?
You know, it feels crap
to be picked last.
But one thing I always make sure
that if I was picked last
is that I tried so hard.
And more importantly,
you're doing it to have fun.
So don't let,
if people pick you last,
stop you from having a good time
or stop you from even playing
at all.
Because whether they pick you or not
doesn't matter.
You want to go out there
and have fun? You do that.
And that's what we're all
here to do, is have fun.
Yeah.
Uh. Hell yeah.
(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
Thank you. Silas.
Hello. Uh
You have quite a large statue
of yourself.
Do you think you'll ever
make something
that will outlast that statue?
(LAUGHS)
Hopefully, my family bloodline
is the answer there,
but I would love to think that
the GO Foundation
and the work that we do
is something that could surpass
that bronze statue.
You know what? It's ridiculous, man.
I have a bronze statue of myself,
you know, doing a war cry dance.
But it's pretty special.
I remember being asked, "Would you
like to be part of this series
"that we're doing in creating?"
I was like, no.
Like, it's not something that
I think I want.
After a few more conversations, I
was like, "Can I choose what pose?"
You know, I don't want to just
be doing a marking pose
or a kicking pose.
I wanted to do something that really
symbolised what I did in my career.
And that was standing up,
being really clear about who I am
as an Aboriginal person,
and using every opportunity I could
to celebrate that.
And I think that war cry,
that dance,
really celebrates who I am
as a person,
but also me standing up
against racism as well.
So, that would be amazing if it did.
Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
Andrew, it's your turn.
I love plants.
What type of plants do you have
in your garden?
Oh, good question, Andrew.
I've got lots oflots of natives.
Um, we have the lemon myrtle
up on my balcony.
I've got this massive big hole
in my courtyard,
which I want to put
a beautiful big tree.
And I'm not sure what native
I might want to do.
OK. Yes.
But the biggest thing that I love,
that you can't go past,
and we've got them in all
the colours, are the kangaroo paws.
Oh, they're beautiful, aren't they?
Yeah. They're so amazing.
Oh, thank you, Adam.
I've got one more question for you.
If you could go back and
change one thing in your life,
what would you change and why?
Ooh. You know what?
Some people go, oh, would you go
back and stop that moment
where you pointed out
to the 14-year-old girl, you know,
who racially vilified you?
And I said, "Well, if I did that,
and that didn't happen,
"then where I am today
is completely different."
Because what I did that night
was I stood up against racism
in that moment.
And then a year later I was
announced Australian of the Year.
Yeah. Congratulations on that.
Thank you, Andrew.
That would have been amazing.
It was amazing.
Thank you.
And what happened
during that process was
the producer of one of the, um,
production companies
who was filming me for the three
months of the profile piece,
um, we became quite friends.
Oh, good on you.
And to the point, now that
she's birthed three of my children,
and she's my wife.
That's really good.
Um, so if I
If I didn't stand up in that moment,
I may not have ever met her,
and I may not be where I am.
So when people ask me the question,
if I could go back, I always say
I wouldn't go back
to change anything.
But if I could go back
to my younger self,
I would put my hand on my shoulder
and say,
"Everything will turn out alright."
That's good.
Um, you know, I'm very grateful
for the decisions,
good and bad, that I've made,
because it's made me who I am.
That's right.
Thank you very much, Adam.
It's been a great interviewing you.
Thanks, Andrew.
Thank you.
And on behalf of The Assembly
here today,
thank you so much for coming, Adam.
And I've got a gift to give to you.
Oh!
(ALL CHATTER)
What is it? Oh!
I would like to say
you can have this in the honour
of coming on The Assembly for us.
It is an Australian native plant,
a grevillea.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you.
Oh, my goodness, this is beautiful.
And the colour pink will work
very nicely in the front garden.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Does everyone want to give Adam
another big round of applause
to say thank you very much?
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
ALL: (CHANT) Adam! Adam! Adam! Adam!
Adam! Adam! Adam!
What did you think, everyone?
WOMAN: Beautiful.
He's lovely, isn't he?
He's such a nice man.
The questions were all really good
today, everyone. It was awesome.
MAN: Oh, thank you.
Yeah.
Whose is this?
Um, my dad's.
Premiership year.
Hey! AFL fan!
WOMAN: Yay!
That was so good, though.
I'm so happy with how that went.
MAN: He was genuinely really nice.
Beautiful.
Thank you very much.
Thanks, Abbey.
You would not have been able
to tell me
I was going to meet you
and be able to chat with you.
It was really cool.
It's amazing what happens.
Life's pretty crazy curveballs
it can throw at us.
Yeah, right.
Well done, you guys.
Even just putting your hand up,
being courageous enough to do this
is prettyit's pretty amazing.
It's been a lot.
Advice for you
Don't wash it.
Exactly.
Never wash it again!
MAN: Alright. Are we ready?
Looking down the lens and smiling.
(CAMERA SNAPS)
WOMAN: Who wants to do
a group selfie with Adam Goodes?
OK.
Our next guest is someone
who's a very experienced
television presenter.
ALL: Ooh!
She's hosted a very successful
top-rating radio program
for the past 18 years.
She's had a really long career
of about 40 years.
She's very funny.
It is Amanda Keller.
ALL: Ooh!
WOMAN: Oh, my God.
My mum loves her.
WOMAN: I love her too.
Well, hello.
It's actually her.
They didn't send in the android.
What inspired you
to write an autobiography?
What point do you go like, "Oh, I've
done so much. I can write this"?
To be honest, when you put it like
that, I do sound like a wanker.
What are the last sounds
you'd like to hear in life?
Mmm.
What are some snap judgements
people make about you
that are totally off the mark?
Would you like to answer that one
for me?
Uh, nope.
(LAUGHTER)
Thanks for the help, Fletchy boy.
Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian
Broadcasting Corporation
LEIGH SALES: Fletcher, how are you
doing? Chau, how are you?
I'll just I'll just stay seated
when I ask my questions.
It's up to you, Chau. You just do
whatever you feel comfortable with.
Whatever you like.
We've got some good questions today.
It should be good.
You look nice today, Leigh.
Thanks very much, Abbey.
He's coming! Oh, my God.
Everybody, this is Adam.
Hey.
WOMAN: Hello, Adam.
ADAM: How are we doing?
MAN: Good.
There's a few worried people
upstairs here
worried about their jobs at the ABC
because of you guys.
(LAUGHTER)
(GASPS) Wow. He's so tall.
Oh. This is nice.
MAN: My dad thinks you're a legend,
by the way.
Yes. Alright. I'm happy with that.
This is a nice audience, isn't it?
Hey?
MAN: Hello, Adam.
We are a collective of
autistic journalism students,
and we are very happy
to have you join us today.
Our rules are,
no subject is out of bounds,
no question is off the table,
and anything might happen.
Welcome to The Assembly.
Thanks, Mitch.
(APPLAUSE)
I didn't know I had to agree
to those rules beforehand.
(LAUGHTER)
MAN: Quiet on set.
And action.
For the first time in Australia,
autistic students are undertaking
an autism-friendly introduction
to journalism course.
They will be mentored by
one of Australia's best journalists
and attend classes at university.
What is journalism
and why is it important?
To test their skills,
the students will interview some
of Australia's most famous people.
WOMAN: To get behind the spin
Wow, this is big.
..to find the real person.
What was school like for you?
You are 40 this year. Any plans
Oh, Jackson. (LAUGHS)
Do you love your husband?
That is a beautiful question.
When you have to look terrified
in a movie,
what are you thinking about?
That's a really good question.
ALL: We are The Assembly!
This Oh, my goodness.
One and a two
MAN: Alright. Let's get the show
on the road.
Let's get this show on the road.
Yeah. Stephanie. Whoo!
You look beautiful in your blazer.
Sit here.
Yeah, sure. Sit here.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
Hi, everyone!
Hello, Leigh.
How's everyone today?
Good.
Are you all excited about this week?
MAN: Stoked.
OK. Now, our next guest.
He is an absolute legend
of Australian sports.
He's also a former
Australian of the Year.
He does some incredible work around
Indigenous literacy and education.
He's got two Brownlow Medals,
which is a very prestigious
sporting award that you can get.
The next guest is Adam Goodes.
(ALL EXCLAIM)
What a good guest.
Whoo!
Yes, it'sit's
an incredible opportunity
to meet a legend of his
respective sporting code.
COMMENTATOR: On the greasy turf.
And then
Goodes! Awesome mark.
COMMENTATOR: What about that mark?
The Brownlow medallist.
COMMENTATOR: Have a look
at this piece of magic.
COMMENTATOR: He's just got
to love him, don't you?
They've done it! What a team.
That's what it's all about.
MAN: Number 37. Adam Goodes.
WOMAN: Wow.
WOMAN: Ooh!
I don't know much about sports.
That's OK.
Another way you can think about it is
sport is kind of a bit like life,
in that there's highs, there's lows,
there's drama.
Oh!
Everyone's looking at you.
50,000 people looking at you.
Oh, no.
What do you all think?
What are your early thoughts
about Adam?
What does he do to make himself
more calm
after he's been through
a lot of hard times
with people being racist?
ADAM: Here a 13-year-old girl
called me an ape.
It's not her fault.
She's 13.
She's still so innocent.
I don't put any blame on her.
That's right. What tools does he use
to stay calm and even?
That's a great question.
I think we should think
really broadly about
all sorts of things
that we could ask Adam.
Why don't we split into groups?
Then I can work with everyone a bit
individually.
And I'm at the front.
He looks different now
with a ponywith a man bun.
OK.
A book author.
How's everyone's prep been going?
Um, I guess I'm trying
to make mine creative.
The best way to get somebody
who's been interviewed a lot
to be engaged in the interview
is to ask them something
they've never been asked before.
MAN: Do you like real swans?
I think that would be good.
I'd be interested to know
what he said.
Oh! I got a good one.
So, OK, the questions I got was,
um
When the kid called you an ape,
were you eager to call her back
another name?
No, that's no good.
Well, I'm not sure, like
That isn't a good question.
We can think about it.
Have you ever been called names?
Oh! Oh, yeah. Trust me.
How did you feel
when people called you names?
I was heartbroken.
I cried.
Whenever I see a teenager,
I would probably run away and hide.
Yeah. (SNIFFS)
I'm 20 years old.
I like gaming, collecting plushies.
And my dream job is to become
a voice actor.
How did you know about that?
That's not how it happened.
Some people just don't understand
autism much,
and they just see it
as an opportunity just to, like,
bully someone.
And here is my gaming room.
I think the reason why I like gaming
is entertaining.
It gets me out of the real world
and makes me focus on
something else.
I do worry what people
will think of me.
Like, am I good? Am I smelly?
Am I, um
Do I look weird?
I just want people to think
I'm human.
I'm a person that's living
and having challenges
and want to be talked to.
I'm doing this course because
I want to boost up my confidence,
because I think my confidence
has gone down way too much.
I'm hoping my questions are good.
They are, Anastasia. They're great.
Nailed it.
(LAUGHS)
I think doing this course
makes me feel more of a human
and more of a person.
Hugging Delta
Well done, beautiful.
Talking to Hamish.
Talking to the Prime Minister.
They know what I'm going through
and they know what's happening
in my life.
And the Prime Minister
shook my hand.
Like, how
How many chances of a life
you got with that?
Yeah.
What are you thinking, Andrew?
What types of plants
do you have in your garden?
Yeah, great.
I thought that was good.
Me and Bethany are going
to give him a treat.
I saw that.
Afterwards, me and Bethany working
on a thankyou speech for you.
Great. Oh, that's so nice.
I'm going to give Adam a grevillea
because I know that he loves
planting trees.
I think asking a plant question
is definitely good
if you're going to give him
a present of a plant later.
I just think plants are wonderful
and they make you happy.
Welcome to my home.
And I'm going to show you
some plants.
This plant here is a monstera
that I propagated.
I just love monsteras.
I just love the way
the leaves are bright.
This one here is a devil's ivy.
This is an anthurium.
This is a syngonium.
Epipremnum snow queen.
Another monstera.
Calathea. Silver sword.
Satin pothos.
Another thing I love enjoying
doing is my advocacy.
And I'd like to take you into
my special advocacy sensory room.
I have spoken at many conferences,
and I spoke in Singapore
at the Asia Pacific Conference,
which was really unique,
because I made a video of my life
where it was from when I was little
to today,
with all my achievements I've done.
Over here I've got,
when I was with Special Olympics,
I've got all my medals.
Autism means to me
a different way of thinking.
I am not broken.
I have a different perspective
on the world.
I think we need more journalists
with autism out there
to hear our perspective
and know what we can do.
Alright. Silas.
Alright.
Had you heard of Adam Goodes before?
UmI knew who he was
Right.
..but I didn't know who he was.
And are you a sporting person?
No, I'm anti sport.
We need to stop it immediately.
(LAUGHS)
It's super interesting to watch
the students' progress.
They are getting better at working
out how to come up with questions.
I love this bunny that you've drawn.
If you're interested in art,
Adam Goodes
Somebody painted a portrait of him
for the Archibald Prize.
He's actually had to pose, and an
artist has done a painting of him.
And then for others, I think
it's more to do with confidence.
Got heaps of good stuff there,
Jackson, to work with. Well done.
So it's just It's really lovely.
So you're a Swans fan.
Yeah.
Is there anything specific
to ask about
..being a fan,
about being a Swans fan?
There's a very big kind of, like,
sense of community.
The fans can be very passionate.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
MAN: Whoo-hoo!
I've only just started watching
AFL live.
My partner and his family
really like AFL,
and it kind of gives me, like,
a way to bond with them.
It's also very kind of, like,
atmospheric in a way.
Kind of, like, you're sharing
this one kind of big thing
with, like, a whole bunch
of other people.
OK. You ready?
One. Two. Three.
No! Oh, no.
I'll do it to you, Fletcher. Ready?
Oh. Good catch.
Yay!
I feel really excited
to interview Adam.
I think we'll get
some interesting answers.
There's 20 seconds on the clock.
We're down by one point.
We need a goal to win.
Come on!
But anything can happen
in these interviews, so we'll see.
ALL: (CHANT) Jackson! Jackson!
Jackson! Jackson!
Oh, my God!
Oh, no!
(ALL LAUGH)
Shoots and scores.
Oh, Belinda's got to fix me up
'cause I've been into them.
Into the Monte Carlos.
MAN: Are you first up?
It's Dale today first.
WOMAN: Oh, OK.
How are you going?
I'm good. How are you?
Good. Thank you for coming in.
Thanks for having me.
You're going to have a ball,
I reckon.
This is a nice audience, isn't it?
Hey?
Alright, everyone,
let's get ready to jump into it.
Stephanie, would you like
to kick us off
and give our inclusion statement?
WOMAN: Thank you.
This is a safe space.
Everyone can relax
and be themselves.
You can fidget, move around,
and take breaks if you need.
Please do what you need to join in.
There will be no judgement.
Thank you.
Thanks, Steph.
Do you want to pass the mike to Dale?
Thank you.
Hello, Adam.
This is actually a cool moment
because my dad also met you
many years ago in Sydney.
This is kind of generational
meeting you.
Making me feel very young.
Thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
It was actually last week. Sorry.
Oh. That's OK.
Yeah, yeah.
You've mentioned in a few articles
that your mum is your biggest
role model in life.
My mum is also my biggest
role model,
and she has taught me
many great life lessons in life.
What is something that your mum
taught you
that you still use to this day?
Yeah, the biggest thing for me that,
you know, my mum has taught me
is to be kind,
and that is, even at the heart of,
you know,
being in the worst
possible situations,
you still being kind really shows
who you are as a person.
I think that's really important.
We all can get tired, angry,
frustrated.
Even in those moments,
you can still bring kindness.
And I think that's really important.
I'm really grateful for my mum
being able to
teach me and show me
the importance of that.
100%. Mums know best and to
For them to teach you young is like
the best thing they can do for you.
You once said in a quote, that
"the football field is a place
where I could express myself
"and just be me."
You've now retired from AFL
and you don't go
on a football field anymore.
Where is that place for you now?
Yeah, it's a really good question.
So I'm very lucky.
Retiring from football,
you know, I could do anything
that I wanted to be.
I founded and started
an Indigenous business,
and we work with other Indigenous
businesses, over 140 of those.
And I absolutely love
the work that I do.
And that gives me a place
to keep my culture strong.
But more importantly, it gives me
an opportunity to do something
that a lot of First Nations people
haven't had the opportunity to do,
and that's create wealth
through business.
And that, to me, is something
that can really change the way that,
from a self-determination point
of view for Indigenous Australians,
the way that we contribute to,
you know, mainstream Australia,
but more importantly,
contribute to uplifting ourselves.
Thank you so much
for answering that question.
And thank you.
Thanks, Dale.
(APPLAUSE)
Angus.
Oh, gosh, I've never been
MAN: Here you go, Angie boy.
(WOMAN LAUGHS)
Thanks, Fletchy boy. Hi, Adam.
Hey, Angus.
Firstly, congrats on being
the first guest on the show
who is taller than
Andrew and Bethany.
(LAUGHTER)
Yeah.
WOMAN: Oh! Oh.
It's close.
Back to back! Back to back!
I do have my heels on today, though.
WOMAN: You and Andrew
are just, just
Oh, wow.
I feel small.
Actually, it was closer than
I thought between you two, so
(LAUGHS) OK.
Um, if AFL didn't exist,
is there any other sport you believe
you could have gone pro in?
I love playing mixed netball.
Same! No way!
Yeah.
Yeah, I did. It was so much fun.
But if sport wasn't going to be
where I ended up,
I really wanted to be an architect.
WOMAN: Oh, wow.
I did two weeks work experience
in Year 10.
Unfortunately,
they didn't motivate me.
I learnt how to make coffees,
lick envelopes, um,
which waswhich was pretty sad,
but something that
I'm really proud of
is that passion of mine
has not gone away.
Um, and recently I helped build
and design our family home,
which we moved into a year ago.
So I was able to, you know,
do the things I wanted to.
But, um, you know,
there's always those sliding door
moments in our lives
that, you know, you could have done
this, could have went that way.
But, you know, I'm really happy
with the choices I've made.
It's been a goodes path to take.
(LAUGHTER)
Thanks, Adam.
Thanks, Angus.
Stephanie, would you like to ask
your questions?
Hello.
Hi.
As we all know,
each game can be different.
When you have a bad game,
how do you stay on the field
and talk to the fans
and journalists?
I never have a bad game, Stephanie.
(LAUGHTER)
What are you talking about?
You got any games in particular
you're talking about there,
journalist?
Just like this group here,
this is a team.
And what I love about
playing a team sport is that,
you know, when we lose,
I can blame everybody else.
(LAUGHTER)
Yeah.
No. The thing about team sports
and being in a team
is that you have to play your role.
And I'm the first person
to put up my hand and say,
"I didn't play my role.
I let the team down."
And that's what would drive me
the next training session,
the next game.
And that was the best thing about
professional sport,
or playing any sport,
that even though you might have had
the worst game on Saturday,
there's another game coming up
on Friday or Saturday or Sunday,
you've got another opportunity
to do something positive about it,
and that starts
on the training track
and sometimes it starts
by acknowledging
I played bad, but that's OK.
OK. Do you have any unconventional
or strange snack pairings?
Oh. Do you?
Well, I used to enjoy, um, uh,
ketchup on mac and cheese,
might get me in trouble.
Ooh No.
As long as you're doing it
behind closed doors, you can do
(LAUGHTER)
You can do whatever you like.
So I like to get
double-coated Tim Tams.
MAN: Oh, yeah.
Bite a little corner off the top.
And then eat the whole bottom of it.
And then glass of milk.
Yes.
Suck Suck that through
until it's nice and soft
and then slowly eat it.
Tim Tam Slam.
Is that what you call it?
There's a name for it?
There's an actual name for it.
Oh, wow. Damn. I've been doing that.
What else do I love? So
Don't tell anyone.
This is the most un-Australian thing
I'm going to say today.
I love Promite.
Oh, no.
Yeah.
I do love Vegemite.
Where's the camera?
I do love Vegemite.
Um
Vegemite.
But it's not as
I don't use it as diversely
as I do my Promite.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for coming today.
Thanks, Stephanie.
It's been a pleasure.
You're amazing.
Here you go.
Thanks.
Adam Goodes,
I have a first question.
Do you want your kids
to play football?
I would love my
I would love my children to do
whatever they want to do, Dylan.
If that's AFL, netball, chess,
dancing, whatever it might be,
I think I want them
to try everything,
and for them to figure it out
themselves.
Mm-hm.
Do you think you are hot?
(LAUGHTER)
I feelI feel very hot today.
I feel like a lot of people
are looking at me
and it could make me feel
a little bit warmer.
Is that what you meant?
Yes.
(LAUGHS)
Yeah, yeah.
Dare I ask, Dylan?
Do you think I'm hot?
Yep.
(LAUGHTER)
It is hot in here, isn't it?
Yeah, I know.
That makes me real blushy.
(LAUGHTER)
Thank you for that question, Dylan.
Evie, it's your turn,
if you'd like to ask your questions
of Adam.
WOMAN: Come on, Evie, you can do it.
I believe in you.
Um, I don't know how
I'm gonna live up to that.
Um
Uh, OK, so my first question, um
What was school like for you
as an Indigenous person?
So my mum, she was part of
the Stolen Generation,
so she was taken away
when she was five
and put into a white family
in Adelaide,
so we lost the clear connect
of culture,
connection to language, customs, and
really where our people came from.
As Mum got older,
she was slowly introduced
to her brothers and sisters.
So Mum was one of ten.
So my early childhood
and teenage life
was about meeting and moving
to see them.
So I went to six different
primary schools
and three different high schools.
So as you can imagine, going
to different schools can be tough,
and being Indigenous can be
even tougher, doing that.
But we always did it with my two
younger brothers and always my mum,
so that's what made it a lot easier.
And I think what made it easier
for me too, Evie,
was that me and my brothers,
we just love playing sports.
So anytime a ball came out,
you know,
we could run, we could jump,
we could kick it.
And that really helped break down
the barriers for us to,
in a way, be accepted
into those schools and communities
where we were.
But, you know, I look back
at my schooling life now
and I loved it.
I got to be around my friends.
I got to learn so much.
I was challenged, I was challenged
quite a lot, in the classroom.
But I think those challenges
helped me for the
..the challenges of life
that we're in now.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you.
Thank you, Evie.
Hello, Adam Goodes.
Have you ever tried dot painting?
I did it at high school
and it's very relaxing.
Press, press, press.
Yes, yes. Press, press, press.
I haveI have tried
dot painting, Savanna.
I enjoyed it.
I thought I made lots of mistakes,
but what I love about being creative
is
The mistakes, actually, are
what makes the painting great.
Um, I did a lot of dot painting
on footballs, on AFL footballs,
which we would then sell
for charity, for my foundation,
but it was something
that my mum taught me.
Mum used painting as a way to relax,
but more importantly,
a way for her to reconnect
withwith her culture,
being an Aboriginal woman.
Out of all of your awkward moments,
what is the most awkward moment
you've ever had?
Oh, do you have any
Do you have any awkward moments
for me that come to mind?
I just have to remember them,
and I'm not scared to tell them.
Yes. OK.
Well, maybemaybe
I'll take that question back.
Um
MAN: You go, girl.
So in 2006, we lost the grand final
to the West Coast Eagles,
and we lost by a point.
And when the siren went, and the MCG
with 100,000 people watching,
I was so heartbroken that we lost
that I just was bawling my eyes out.
I was soso shattered
that we'd lost the grand final.
And I cried probably
for about 15 minutes.
And I think back at that now
A long time to cry.
..and it makes me
a little bit awkward
because a lot of my mates still send
me memes of me crying like that,
which are quite
which I find funny.
It's OK. I can laugh at myself
as well.
It wasn't too traumatic for me,
but I look back at it and go,
maybe I didn't need to cry
for as long as I did,
but at that moment it was
That was my whole world.
My whole world was about
winning premierships
and I just missed out on
winning another one by one point,
and that was really hard for me.
Have you ever ridden a horse
in the outback at sunset or sunrise?
Or on a beach?
Could be on a beach. Have you
ridden one on a beach instead?
I have, I have ridden one
on a beach, actually, in Broome.
I've ridden camels up there.
Oh, nice.
Very, very cute.
Thank you, Savanna.
Fletcher, you're up next.
You used to play your soccer, right?
I'm having a little bit of trouble
controlling my breathing
every time I get the ball and steal
the ball going into the goals.
How do you control your breathing
after all that running around
when you play sports?
Because I really need some advice.
One thing that really helps me
with my breathing
is I like to meditate.
So even when we're just sitting
here now, I'm a little bit nervous,
but I relax myself
with my deep breathing.
So every time before I answer,
I take a (INHALES) ..deep breath,
and that helps relax me
a little bit.
And one thing
when I was at training,
I always used this little trick that
when I was playing sport,
I would (INHALES)
Every time I inhaled,
I was inhaling courage.
And then every time I exhale
(EXHALES) ..I was
..I was letting go of all the fear
that I had in my body,
and that just really relaxed me.
And hopefully that helps you.
Thank you.
You would love to laugh.
And I love to laugh a LOT!
(LAUGHTER)
Can you tell us about
what makes you laugh?
I think what really makes me laugh
now is my children.
I have three young children.
Adelaide, who's nearly five,
Otis is two,
and Leroy, who just turned one.
And every time that I go
into their rooms in the morning
and they're a little bit sleepy,
and I wake them up,
and they always put a smile on their
face, and that just makes me laugh,
because I'm the first person that
they get to see to start the day,
and it makes me really happy.
So
Aw
..and they always do silly things
that make me laugh as well.
Yeah.
Thank you.
So thank you. Thank you very much.
No, thank you.
Thanks, Fletcher.
(APPLAUSE)
Hello, Adam.
Um, if you could make any food
the national dish of Australia,
what would it be?
Oh, that's really good. Have
you ever tried a witchetty grub?
No, but I actually want to,
because I watched a video about it,
and I was like,
they actually look good.
I've never tried it either,
so maybe we should try something
A national dish. You know what?
So
I'm a sucker for a lamington,
I have to say.
Lamingtons,
they're already up there.
The meat pie. It's already up there.
You know, I'm as Aussie
as you can get.
I love those things. Yeah.
Yeah. Lovely. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you.
Jackson, you're up next.
Thank you.
G'day.
Hey, Jackson.
I stand up for myself
when people are mean to me,
or when they treat me
like I'm different.
What's it like standing up
for yourself
and teaching people
to stand up to racism?
Mm. It's hard to stand up
for yourself.
Um, it really is.
But I always was taught, you know,
by my mum,
that nobody else is going
to stand up for you,
so you do it for yourself.
And sometimes standing up
for yourself is actually
literally just standing up
and walking away.
And for me, for a long period
of time, that was the way
that I was able to stand up for
myself, was to extract myself
from a very toxic situation
until I had the courage
and confidence,
but more importantly, the words
to articulate
how they were making me feel
and to also challenge them
on what they were saying.
Mm.
Now, that's brave.
Thank you, Jackson.
Anastasia, it's your go.
Thank you.
Alright, alright. Hello? Yeah. Hi.
(LAUGHS)
I play soccer,
like when you were a kid.
And there's someone there
that annoys me a lot.
Did anyone annoy you
when you were playing soccer,
and what did you do about it?
Yeah, I kicked them in the shins.
(LAUGHTER)
That's what I was
No, I didn't!
Good on you.
I didn't do that.
It was an accident.
(LAUGHTER)
No, I think the best thing about
playing sports is
when somebody is doing that
and annoying you,
they're doing that because
you're a really good player
and they're really trying
to get you off your game.
It does actually
If I think about it, it does
actually make kind of great sense.
Yeah, it does, because
that's what they're trying to do.
They're trying to stop you
from doing that.
So the best thing you can actually
do is keep doing what you're doing.
Mm. Um
No, that onethat one's
just too weird.
I'll be the judge of that.
(LAUGHS) UmOK. Um, OK.
My next question is,
what is your favourite dance move?
ALL: Oh!
Dance move.
Are you a dancer?
Yeah, I am.
See
Oh! Look out! Hey!
WOMAN: Go, Anastasia!
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you.
I can't compete with that.
Yeah, I think my favourite dance
move that I've ever done was
..with my wife,
and we did the Dirty Dancing one
when she ran at me
and I lifted her up.
Do you want to try?
(ALL EXCLAIM)
(LAUGHS)
I'm joking, I'm joking.
I haven't
Oh, I see, I see
(LAUGHS) Yeah.
Oh, my goodness. OK.
Do I ask another question?
If you want to.
OK.
Um, when you pass away, do you think
you'll meet your mum there?
ALL: Aw
II definitely will.
So we had a special ceremony
for Mum.
She wanted to be cremated.
We, then, a year later, we asked
the council down in South Australia
if we could release Mum's ashes
off the jetty at Glenelg.
So my brothers and I, we jumped
in the water and we swam out about,
oh, about 50m from the jetty
and had a special ceremony,
us three boys there.
And then we let Mum go and then
we could slowly see it drift away
and it was really special.
Um, have you guys seen Moana?
Yes. Moana 2 teaser trailer
just came out.
I know.
I'm so excited for that movie
to come out!
So a very special moment happened
that when we were swimming back
and about to climb up the stairs
Remember when Moana's grandma
passes away,
and then you see the spirit
go through the air
and then dive into the water
as a stingray?
So as we are coming back
to the stairs,
this beautiful stingray comes
swimming up underneath us.
And we were just like, wow.
There's Mum just saying goodbye to
us and that she's going to be OK.
So that was pretty cool.
So, yes, I hope that I do.
And I will be going to see Mum,
A little bit later, though.
Anastasia.
Yeah. Yeah, definitely.
I'm in no rush.
We're not doing this now.
(APPLAUSE)
Thanks, Anastasia.
Oh, OK. Um
Your player for the Sydney Swans
at the time was number 37.
Is there a story behind you
being number 37,
and what does the number 37
mean to you?
Yeah, I was actually 37
when I was drafted.
Oh.
No, I'm just joking.
(LAUGHTER)
That would have been
That would have been pretty cool.
I was actually 17 when I was drafted
to the Sydney Swans
straight out of high school, I know,
so they assigned me number 37
when I first got there.
And what was really exciting
about that was
when I stood in front of my locker,
there was only one person's name
on the locker,
and that name was Bert Lucas.
And to get your name on the locker,
you had to achieve certain things
throughout your career.
Play 100 games,
you get your name on the locker.
Win a Brownlow Medal,
you get your name on the locker.
If you win a premiership,
you get your name on the locker.
So all of those things meant that
you could get your name
on the locker.
And I thought I wanted to get
my name as the second person ever
on number 37.
So I decided to keep it, Mitch.
Yeah, great number as well.
Not by Not just because
you played for them,
but by the way, do you like
the actual swan birds?
Like, do you like real swans?
Oh, I love that question, Mitch.
So, growing up as
a Aboriginal person,
I actually didn't know that
how I was connected to my people
or where my tribe was from.
So when I was reconnected back
to my Adnyamathanha ancestry,
the Black Swan totem
was gifted to me.
And that was after being playing
at the Swans for nearly 10 years.
So that was the totem
that was gifted to me.
So I do love swans.
I think they're so beautiful
and elegant.
Just don't go near them when they've
got theirtheir babies around.
They can be quite aggressive.
Yeah. Same with magpies.
Oh, yes. We don't like magpies.
(LAUGHTER)
WOMAN: No, we don't like
the magpies.
MAN: Collingwood, boo.
Um, what's the weirdest thing
you've had to sign?
One person asked me to sign
a mouthguard,
and I, like, I was signing
the mouthguard.
I was like,
whose mouthguard is this?
And they said,
"This is one of your old ones."
And I was like, what?
(LAUGHTER)
Where did you
Where did you get that from?
And I was like, signing it going,
"This is really weird."
(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
What is your favourite thing
about yourself?
Ooh. Dylan, what's my favourite
thing about
(LAUGHTER)
Is it my eyes?
Your eyes.
Yeah, it's the eyes.
I think what I, um, really love
about myself, Abbey,
is the colour of my skin.
Mmm.
Because it is different
to a lot of people.
But also there was times in my life
where I wasn't happy
with the colour of my skin.
So every time that I see myself
and I see that I'm different,
it reminds me of how proud I am
to be different.
Mmm.
Versus the times in my life where
this was used to single me out
for being different.
So I think now being proud
of something that was
at a certain point in my life
negative,
something that
I'm super proud about,
and um, yeah, really excited
to, you know,
keep wearing that
as a badge of honour.
MAN: Aw.
What is something
on your bucket list?
Ooh.
One thing about playing
professional sport
was I had to make a lot of
sacrifices during that time.
Sacrifices, seeing family, going to
friends' weddings, funerals.
I wasn't able to travel around
the world when I wanted.
I could only ever travel
at the end of a football season.
So the bucket list for me now
having children, Abbey,
is to take them to Disneyland.
That's on my bucket list.
Maybe we can go together.
Oh, you never know.
(APPLAUSE)
(LAUGHS)
Chau, it's your go.
CHAU: My turn.
I'll stay seated. I'll stay seated.
A lot of time autistic people
are often picked last for sport.
Sometimes not picked at all.
What advice do you give
for people who are autistic
and want to play sport?
You know, I'd talk about
our football club,
we would always have to pick teams,
and I made it my passion that
always the people that were picked
last at our football club for teams,
I would pick them first.
WOMAN: Oh.
Um
Because I was always that person
at the new school that I went to
that was picked last.
And it feels It feels crap,
doesn't it? You know?
You know, it feels crap
to be picked last.
But one thing I always make sure
that if I was picked last
is that I tried so hard.
And more importantly,
you're doing it to have fun.
So don't let,
if people pick you last,
stop you from having a good time
or stop you from even playing
at all.
Because whether they pick you or not
doesn't matter.
You want to go out there
and have fun? You do that.
And that's what we're all
here to do, is have fun.
Yeah.
Uh. Hell yeah.
(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
Thank you. Silas.
Hello. Uh
You have quite a large statue
of yourself.
Do you think you'll ever
make something
that will outlast that statue?
(LAUGHS)
Hopefully, my family bloodline
is the answer there,
but I would love to think that
the GO Foundation
and the work that we do
is something that could surpass
that bronze statue.
You know what? It's ridiculous, man.
I have a bronze statue of myself,
you know, doing a war cry dance.
But it's pretty special.
I remember being asked, "Would you
like to be part of this series
"that we're doing in creating?"
I was like, no.
Like, it's not something that
I think I want.
After a few more conversations, I
was like, "Can I choose what pose?"
You know, I don't want to just
be doing a marking pose
or a kicking pose.
I wanted to do something that really
symbolised what I did in my career.
And that was standing up,
being really clear about who I am
as an Aboriginal person,
and using every opportunity I could
to celebrate that.
And I think that war cry,
that dance,
really celebrates who I am
as a person,
but also me standing up
against racism as well.
So, that would be amazing if it did.
Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
Andrew, it's your turn.
I love plants.
What type of plants do you have
in your garden?
Oh, good question, Andrew.
I've got lots oflots of natives.
Um, we have the lemon myrtle
up on my balcony.
I've got this massive big hole
in my courtyard,
which I want to put
a beautiful big tree.
And I'm not sure what native
I might want to do.
OK. Yes.
But the biggest thing that I love,
that you can't go past,
and we've got them in all
the colours, are the kangaroo paws.
Oh, they're beautiful, aren't they?
Yeah. They're so amazing.
Oh, thank you, Adam.
I've got one more question for you.
If you could go back and
change one thing in your life,
what would you change and why?
Ooh. You know what?
Some people go, oh, would you go
back and stop that moment
where you pointed out
to the 14-year-old girl, you know,
who racially vilified you?
And I said, "Well, if I did that,
and that didn't happen,
"then where I am today
is completely different."
Because what I did that night
was I stood up against racism
in that moment.
And then a year later I was
announced Australian of the Year.
Yeah. Congratulations on that.
Thank you, Andrew.
That would have been amazing.
It was amazing.
Thank you.
And what happened
during that process was
the producer of one of the, um,
production companies
who was filming me for the three
months of the profile piece,
um, we became quite friends.
Oh, good on you.
And to the point, now that
she's birthed three of my children,
and she's my wife.
That's really good.
Um, so if I
If I didn't stand up in that moment,
I may not have ever met her,
and I may not be where I am.
So when people ask me the question,
if I could go back, I always say
I wouldn't go back
to change anything.
But if I could go back
to my younger self,
I would put my hand on my shoulder
and say,
"Everything will turn out alright."
That's good.
Um, you know, I'm very grateful
for the decisions,
good and bad, that I've made,
because it's made me who I am.
That's right.
Thank you very much, Adam.
It's been a great interviewing you.
Thanks, Andrew.
Thank you.
And on behalf of The Assembly
here today,
thank you so much for coming, Adam.
And I've got a gift to give to you.
Oh!
(ALL CHATTER)
What is it? Oh!
I would like to say
you can have this in the honour
of coming on The Assembly for us.
It is an Australian native plant,
a grevillea.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you.
Oh, my goodness, this is beautiful.
And the colour pink will work
very nicely in the front garden.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Does everyone want to give Adam
another big round of applause
to say thank you very much?
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
ALL: (CHANT) Adam! Adam! Adam! Adam!
Adam! Adam! Adam!
What did you think, everyone?
WOMAN: Beautiful.
He's lovely, isn't he?
He's such a nice man.
The questions were all really good
today, everyone. It was awesome.
MAN: Oh, thank you.
Yeah.
Whose is this?
Um, my dad's.
Premiership year.
Hey! AFL fan!
WOMAN: Yay!
That was so good, though.
I'm so happy with how that went.
MAN: He was genuinely really nice.
Beautiful.
Thank you very much.
Thanks, Abbey.
You would not have been able
to tell me
I was going to meet you
and be able to chat with you.
It was really cool.
It's amazing what happens.
Life's pretty crazy curveballs
it can throw at us.
Yeah, right.
Well done, you guys.
Even just putting your hand up,
being courageous enough to do this
is prettyit's pretty amazing.
It's been a lot.
Advice for you
Don't wash it.
Exactly.
Never wash it again!
MAN: Alright. Are we ready?
Looking down the lens and smiling.
(CAMERA SNAPS)
WOMAN: Who wants to do
a group selfie with Adam Goodes?
OK.
Our next guest is someone
who's a very experienced
television presenter.
ALL: Ooh!
She's hosted a very successful
top-rating radio program
for the past 18 years.
She's had a really long career
of about 40 years.
She's very funny.
It is Amanda Keller.
ALL: Ooh!
WOMAN: Oh, my God.
My mum loves her.
WOMAN: I love her too.
Well, hello.
It's actually her.
They didn't send in the android.
What inspired you
to write an autobiography?
What point do you go like, "Oh, I've
done so much. I can write this"?
To be honest, when you put it like
that, I do sound like a wanker.
What are the last sounds
you'd like to hear in life?
Mmm.
What are some snap judgements
people make about you
that are totally off the mark?
Would you like to answer that one
for me?
Uh, nope.
(LAUGHTER)
Thanks for the help, Fletchy boy.
Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian
Broadcasting Corporation