AS STATISTICS go, 21 touches, five goals and four contested marks would indicate an excellent performance from a valuable key forward.

But Brendon Goddard knows he is unlikely to remain a permanent fixture in attack despite his efforts against Fremantle on Sunday.

In his eight-year-career, Goddard has been used in almost every position on the ground and has developed a reputation as one of the most versatile players in the AFL.

With that in mind, he knows there is no certainty he will find himself a forward against Port Adelaide next Saturday.

“Kosi (Justin Koschitzke) is back next week so he’ll be down there. I’m not sure where I play next week. I might have a different role but I enjoyed tonight and it was an even spread of contributors across the board,” Goddard said after the game.

“Everyone bobbed up. Milney (Stephen Milne) kicked five and there were a couple of twos and threes. It was a good effort by the boys.”

Goddard, Jason Gram, Sam Fisher and Zac Dawson all spent time up forward as the Saints adjusted to life without the injured Nick Riewoldt.

The 24-year-old spent the first five minutes of the match on the wing but soon became the focal point in attack.

He trained with the forwards during the week leading up to the game but was unsure what role he would play.

“We weren’t sure coming into the game how much time I’d spend up forward. It panned out that I played mostly up there,” he said.

“I did a bit during the week up forward. We mixed our roles up and everyone went through there at some stage tonight.”

Goddard praised Milne for his efforts in putting aside a tough week to star for the Saints.

“It shows the character of the guy. He deals with controversy quite well and he has in the past. As a footy club we’ve done that quite well,” he said.

“We focus on our footy and put the outside issues behind us. We dealt with it early in the week and focused on our footy.