SHE'S THE draft prospect that wants to be a criminal prosecutor, is organised enough to have already applied to universities all over the country to cover getting drafted interstate, and counts blue-tongue lizards among her many pets.

Lucia Painter has a bright future ahead of her, regardless of where she ends up in Monday's Telstra AFLW Draft.

Also going by Lu, Painter is one out of the box, a bullocking midfielder who finished second in this year's Coates Talent League best and fairest behind Ash Centra.

The Bendigo product has been playing footy since she was about 10, initially through school, and has just finished her fourth season with CTL side Pioneers, having also represented them at under-16 level.

She's rebounded with style in 2024, having had nine months between games after a severe ankle injury.

"Last year, I ruptured my syndesmosis in a tackle against the Murray Bushrangers. I had surgery a month later and it knocked me back a fair bit with my football, but it allowed me to just take a break and have a rest and just get my draft year planned," Painter told AFL.com.au.

"It was definitely a long process. I was able to see football from a different lens, so I took up coaching. I'd just get to training earlier and just help out as much as I could, especially after my running sets, and then I decided to take up a cert II in coaching.

"This year has been a bit of a struggle for me. I had shin splints all year, [as well as] coming back from that ankle surgery. I was just focusing on having a pretty gradual increase in my year, so I didn't want to go out and just be amazing at the start of the year.

"[Shin splints] definitely are tough, I've had them for a couple of years now. A lot of people have them, but until you have them, you don't know how painful they are. I wouldn't say I've had a consistent year on the training track, but my games have definitely stayed pretty consistent, which I'm pretty happy with, considering."

Few can stop Painter in full flight. She's a powerful runner with a booming kick, whether that's charging out of defence or launching into forward 50.

"I look up to Charlie Rowbottom," the Essendon fan said of the Gold Coast superstar.

"She's just very strong over the ball and being one of the young guns that are coming through, it's just amazing to see how much work she's putting in and how much reward she gets.

"My strengths as a player would be my kicking and my tackling ability, as well as my strength over the ball. The thing I love about football is definitely the thrill of the chase, and just chasing after people for that rundown tackle or kicking a goal."

Painter has had an unusual workload this year.

Having already completed two year 12 subjects at Marist College in 2023, she's just had the three this year, allowing her three hours of study time while others are in class.

"I don't actually do any study at home, because I get it all done at school and it helps me balance that load, in keeping school to school, footy to footy and then family to family," Painter said.

"I also work at the pub, my dad's the head chef there, so he helps me out a fair bit. I'm a waitress and behind the bar, then I'm at a bakery of a morning, so I keep myself pretty busy on weekends.

"I've gone through the process of applying for universities in every state, considering it's a national draft. I want to study law, hopefully to become a prosecuting lawyer towards the end of it.

"Regardless of whether it was going to be national state, I would have nominated national. I think you only live once, so might as well see where it takes you, considering the path that AFLW is going. I reckon national draft is the correct way to go."

Painter was likely to move regardless of wherever she gets drafted, given she lives in Bendigo (although Collingwood's Grace Campbell still commutes from the city), but she's got a few tough decisions to make about who comes with her.

One non-Victorian club commented that Painter had told them that her recently acquired dog – who she hadn't told her parents about before it appeared at the Painter home a few months ago – will definitely be making the move if required.

"I've got two blue-tongues, a couple of fish and a puppy that I recently bought, so yeah, it keeps me pretty busy, but I love them," Painter said.

"When I was eight, my cousin's friend gave me a blue-tongue for my birthday, and I always have loved animals. It was just a new addition, I guess, but they're actually quite cute and cuddly.

"People don't expect it, but nah, they've got their own personalities and then I bought another one and yeah, my collection just keeps growing, really."