Tears, anger and regret filled the room when AFL players - Indigenous and non-Indigenous - watched screenings of the Adam Goodes documentary 'The Final Quarter'.
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Indigenous players were given a private screening of the film, which details the final three years of Goodes' career using archival footage and premieres next week, during a pre-season camp in February.
Sydney and GWS players have also watched the movie made by director Ian Darling, while players at other clubs will soon have the same opportunity.
Giants defender Zac Williams, a young Indigenous footballer finding his feet at AFL level back in 2015, watched the film alongside Shaun Burgoyne, Eddie Betts and other disheartened greats
"It was confronting. Just the mental aspect of it, what Goodesy faced," Williams told AAP.
"I'm probably disappointed in myself that I didn't do as much as I could.
"I know I was pretty young, just trying to get a game, but I guess as an AFL footballer if I spoke up or someone else spoke up then our voices would have been heard.
"But the doco will come out and there will be a lot of interesting conversations and tough conversations that probably need to be had. If more people are more open minded and have those conversations, the better off we will be as a whole community."
One of the many moving moments in the film is the final match of Goodes' 372-game career, which comes after a season in which he is booed across the country.
Jarrad McVeigh, who captained the Swans throughout the years documented in the film, is seen having a very short discussion with the dual Brownlow medallist.
"I remember saying to him 'Is this it mate?'. He just brushed it away, we didn't get a chance to lift him on our shoulders and carry him off the ground like the true champion he was," McVeigh told AAP.
"For him to not get a proper goodbye, that was probably one of the moments that stuck out for me. It was just really upsetting."
McVeigh has spoken with Goodes about the film.
"I just went 'Mate, I feel for you and bloody hell, did I do enough?'. It was just a mate-to-mate conversation," he said.
"His legacy will reach far beyond football and for generations to come. That's a pretty great thing, for him to have started something and improved society."
Williams isn't the most confident public speaker but was among players and coaches around the country to front TV cameras earlier this year, making a stand against racism.
The powerful words of Williams and other players reflected the overriding sentiment from the Indigenous camp in February.
"Their response was incredibly positive and powerful," Darling said.
"In many ways, they perhaps saw this as a line-in-the-sand moment."
Australian Associated Press
