Goodes preferred soccer as a boy, playing in South Australia. While at Merbein, Goodes attended primary school at Merbein West Primary School in 1986 and it was there that he began to play Australian rules football as there was no soccer club for him to join. He moved with his family to Horsham, Victoria, where he played football at high school and represented at under-16 and under-18 levels. At age 16, he began playing with the North Ballarat Rebels in the TAC Cup. Goodes played in a winning premiership side with the Rebels, where he was scouted by the Sydney Swans.