Adelaide United Captain Craig Goodwin says the Reds are embracing the opportunity to compete for silverware as they prepare to kick off their 2026 Hahn Australia Cup campaign against South Melbourne on Thursday night.
After an encouraging pre-season, the focus now shifts to competitive football, with Goodwin believing the early arrival of meaningful fixtures has sharpened the squad’s preparations.
“Obviously, we’re excited,” Goodwin said.
“We always talk about how long pre-season is, whereas this time around we’ve got some very competitive games really early on for us.
“It gives us a very real target to focus towards in training. Sometimes it can get a little bit repetitive having training and practice games, so having these matches early gives us something to strive towards.”
While South Melbourne enters the tie in the middle of its NPL Victoria season, Goodwin insists Adelaide will not underestimate the challenge.
The Socceroo believes the quality throughout Australia’s National Premier Leagues continues to rise, making Cup fixtures more competitive than ever.
“There are a lot of good players in the NPL setup that could potentially play A-League and are at that level,” he said.
“For us, it’s about playing the way that we play, focusing on what we can control, and making sure we don’t have a day where we think it’s going to be an easy game.
“We’re fully focused on the job at hand and the message within our group is that we want to go far in this competition and win it.”
Goodwin knows exactly what lifting the Australia Cup can mean.
Having helped Adelaide United claim the Club’s second Cup triumph in 2018, he still ranks that night among the greatest moments of his career.
“It’s a chance to win silverware,” he said.
“When I think back to the Cup in 2018, that’s one of the highlights of my career.
“This competition can leave you with some of the best memories of your career, so we want to build a strong foundation leading into the season and go deep in this competition.”
The Reds skipper also heads into the new campaign feeling refreshed after an injury-interrupted 2025/26 season.
“Thankfully, it’s the first time in five seasons that I haven’t had a major injury at the start of pre-season,” Goodwin said.
“I’m feeling very strong and fit, and hopefully that gives me a great base to lead into the season.”
Goodwin also backed the next generation of Reds to continue the Club’s proud tradition of developing young talent, pointing to players such as Jonny Yull, Panagiotis Kikianis, Ethan Alagich and Ryan White as those capable of taking another step forward this season.
“Those boys now go from having a breakout year to saying, ‘I’m one of the best players in the competition,’” he said.
“We’ve got the players to do it.”
The Reds travel to Melbourne looking to begin another Australia Cup run in style before turning their attention to next week’s AFC Champions League Elite Preliminary Round against Công An Hà Nội FC at Hindmarsh Stadium.
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