Rodent returns, attains goals (7)
I believe the answer is:
targets
'goals' is the definition.
(target is a kind of goal)
'rodent returns attains' is the wordplay.
'rodent' becomes 'rat' (rat is a kind of rodent).
'returns' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'attains' becomes 'gets' (I've seen this in another clue).
'rat' in reverse letter order is 'tar'.
'tar'+'gets'='TARGETS'
(Other definitions for targets that I've seen before include "Aim points" , "objectives of firing people" , "Goals" , "Reference points to shoot at" , "Butts" .)