Born: December 30, 1985 – Parkes, NSW Test record: 10 Tests (2009, 2013) – 8 tries, 14 goals (60) Tours: 2009 Four Nations, 2013 World Cup
The son of a 1973 Kangaroo and celebrated St George cult hero, winger/centre Bryson Goodwin earned his Kiwi stripes at the end of a breakout NRL campaign with the Bulldogs.
Goodwin was born in Parkes in the Central West of NSW, where his father, ‘Lord’ Ted Goodwin was captain-coaching at the end of a storied career. He grew up in Perth and played junior football for Canning Bulldogs and South Perth Lions, before moving to Sydney and playing for Gymea Gorillas, as well as attending noted rugby league nursery Endeavour Sports High.
After making nine top-grade appearances for Cronulla in 2007-08, Goodwin signed with the Bulldogs and scored 20 tries for the rejuvenated, preliminary final-bound club in 2009.
That resulted in a Kiwis call-up for the 23-year-old (he qualified through his paternal grandparents), scoring two tries and kicking a goal on Test debut against Tonga in Rotorua prior to the squad’s departure for the Four Nations.
Goodwin played all three matches at the tournament on the wing, kicking two goals in a 20-all draw with Australia at St Helens, scoring 22 points (one try, nine goals) in a win over France in Toulouse and contributing a try and two goals in a loss to England in Huddersfield.
Despite proving a prolific pointscorer for the Bulldogs after taking over the goalkicking duties from the retired Hazem El Masri in 2010 – tallying 170 points – Goodwin slipped out of Kiwis contention and eventually left Canterbury for South Sydney in 2013.
Goodwin reignited his career with the Rabbitohs as a centre, scoring 10 tries in 25 games for the heavyweights and earning a Kiwis recall for the 2013 World Cup. He featured in all six of New Zealand’s matches at the tournament in the centres, scoring a try in pool wins over France and Papua New Guinea, and bagging a double in the quarter-final victory over Scotland.
The loss to Australia in the final at Old Trafford was to be the last of Goodwin’s 10 Test appearances.
Goodwin missed Souths’ drive to the 2014 premiership but stayed with the club until the end of 2017, having played 99 games in first grade for the Rabbitohs.
A subsequent two-season stint with Warrington garnered Challenge Cup final and Super League grand final losses in 2018, and a Challenge Cup final triumph at Wembley in 2019.
Goodwin returned to Cronulla in 2020 – turning out for Māori All Stars in the pre-season – but managed only seven games in the top flight, bowing out of the NRL with a total of 74 tries and 570 points in 183 games.