PAIGE Trudgeon was collateral damage in Carlton's overhaul at the end of 2022.

Following an off-season where the Blues conducted an internal review of their AFLW program, which saw a host of staff moved on, Trudgeon was bogged down with injury. Unable to hit the park in the first season of a new regime, she was traded to St Kilda following 21 games in four seasons at Ikon Park.

But it ultimately proved to be the right choice for the key defender, who has come into herself across her two years with the Saints.

"I was pretty unlucky in my last year at Carlton with injury, and they had different personnel coming through the program, so I didn't really have an opportunity to showcase anything," Trudgeon told AFL.com.au.

"Both Mua (Laloifi) and I kind of got put on the sidelines a little bit, just got told 'Maybe seek out your options' and at that point in time I obviously had to see what other options were out there. And, if I'm being honest, I had one chat with St Kilda and chose St Kilda. Just everything that they were selling to me and telling me was everything I was after.

"I pretty much just wanted a club that would help me enjoy football again, and bring my love back and instil belief in me."

Football was always something that existed in the peripheries of Trudgeon's life. She didn't play junior footy, but spent countless hours at the park playing with brothers Lachlan and Joel, the latter now a star of Coburg's VFL side.

"I often wanted to play basketball with my brothers, but they wanted to have a kick of the footy and stuff. So, I've got two brothers, and I think that shows on the field with my physicality," Trudgeon laughed.

"It was a bit of tough love I suppose, often we'd come home crying to mum and dad, hurting each other. But at the end of the day, it probably helped me a lot. I owe them so much credit for the player that I am today, and even just with my younger brother playing VFL, I watch the way he plays, and I admire it so much.

"There are certain things that he does that I aspire to showcase in my game too; he just shows a lot of grit and his intensity at the football."

Bettering herself has always been a priority for Trudeon. She has recently finished a Masters of Primary Teaching, which included six weeks of placement with five- and six-year-olds, and is currently reading 'Where the Light Gets In' by Ben Crowe.

Crowe is best known for being Ash Barty and Steph Gilmore's mindset coach, and spent time with Richmond's AFL program through its premiership-winning era, and the book has been a way for Trudgeon to connect with coach Nick Dal Santo.

"'Dal' read it as well, the other day he actually quotes it, and I was like 'I've read that'," Trudgeon said.

It's a style of coaching that has worked well for Trudgeon and her evolution. The caring, aspirational mindset, focused on what is possible, not on past failures to meet expectation.

"I love 'Dal', I love the way he coaches, it's so my style and he honestly wants the best out of us," Trudgeon explained.

"We all had a word last year that we wanted to be remembered by, and his was care. He just wants to be known as the coach who cares, and literally preach, because he does, and you can just tell in the way that he goes about his coaching, and he'd do anything for any one of us."

It is an environment in which Trudgeon has grown into one of the toughest key defenders in the League. A career-best season last year went hand-in-hand with the Saints' first AFLW finals series, with an eye on improving upon that in 22026.

Despite being known as a ruthless defender, Trudgeon was initially signed to Carlton's list as a key forward, and it was only through an attempt to improve her forward craft that she discovered a love for the backline.

"I decided to try out defence to figure out what's hard to defend, and I just kind of never went back. There's just something about the backs, defenders, I feel like in every team there's just that special connection," Trudgeon said.

Nic Newman was helping coach the backs at Carlton at the time, and Trudgeon points to his guidance, alongside the likes of Kerryn Peterson, Gab Pound, and Laloifi and key to her development in a new position.

Now, she plays in a tight-knit Saints defence with captain Hannah Priest, vice-captain Serene Watson, Bianca Jakobsson, and Alice Burke.

"We've got some really amazing players at this club who would do anything for you, both on the field and off the field. We genuinely all want the best for each other, and I think that reflects in the way that we play as well. We probably don't have a star player, but everyone just plays their role," Trudgeon said.

"We all bring different assets to the team, and the way that we can grow through learning about other people, their personalities, their feedback, things like that. It's just such a huge growth factor."