After the Demons' 39-point loss to Geelong on Friday night that left them sitting 0-4, Petracca cut a shattered figure as he walked off the field, throwing his mouthguard and putting his hands on his face.
The visceral reaction captured by broadcast cameras has been scrutinised, especially given Petracca's frustrations last year that led to him contemplating a trade.
Immediately after the match, Goodwin labelled the 2021 Norm Smith Medallist a "winner" and he doubled down on Thursday.
"He wasn't frustrated. He wants to win. And clearly he shows that with his emotion," Goodwin said.
"As I said, he's a winner. He's determined for success, and that's what we love about him.
"He cares about his footy club, he cares about his teammates, and he wants to be involved in a winning team. And there's been a hell of a lot of commentary around it, both positively and negatively.
"From a coach, I loved it. I love that he's got emotion. I love that he shows how passionate about his footy club, and he displays that on a daily basis when he's in here.
"He's helping develop young players. He's helped coach the team and lead the team throughout the week, in training sessions and game day.
"So I love what he brings our footy club, and people will see it differently, but he's an outstanding person for us."
Skipper Max Gawn believed Petracca had been a little "embarrassed" to have been caught on camera.
"It just shows how much he cares at the moment," Gawn told Triple M.
🗣� "You can see the despair from Christian Petracca. — 7AFL (@7AFL) April 4, 2025"That image right there says a lot about where Melbourne is right now, and where it wants to be."#AFLCatsDees pic.twitter.com/uz35gycYx6
Melbourne's poor start has piled pressure on the 2021 premiership coach, who hasn't enjoyed a finals win since that flag.
"I haven't had one thought about myself," Goodwin said.
"My thoughts are with the club, the team and the players.
"And through my time at the footy club, we've seen great challenges, and we've been able to work our way through them to where we've ultimately had success. So I'm in no different position now.
"When you get challenged, you rise, you do your job to the best of your ability.
"And I think I'm pretty well credentialed to see through these challenges and get the club back to where where they belong and that's my job at task right now."
Melbourne are desperate to get off the mark against Essendon (1-3) at Adelaide Oval in Gather Round on Saturday.
"Having every club there you get to showcase where you're at," Goodwin said.
"We need to start to put our flag in the ground about where we're at and what we're doing.
"So we're looking forward to getting over there and making sure we play a way that's really impressive, and we get our season rolling."
Goodwin believed under-fire forward Bayley Fritsch had "turned his game around" over the past two weeks.
Melbourne are without Jake Lever (ankle surgery) for up to two months but prized draftee Xavier Lindsay will return from a knee injury.
Lindsay replaces dropped tall Daniel Turner in the only change as Goodwin kept the faith with most of his team.
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