SAINTS coach Nick Dal Santo has questioned a contentious umpire call that has left one of his most important players carrying an ankle injury.

Key defender Paige Trudgeon was awarded a free kick, before being controversially called to play on, hurting her ankle when she was tackled from behind by West Coast small forward Keely Skepper.

"I'm still trying to work out why that was play on when she has a free kick at centre-half back and hadn't moved," Dal Santo said.

"I'm trying to work out how a player can come up behind her and tackle her when she's still in the same position.

"She got the free kick which caused that ankle injury, so that's a shame, but she pushes through - she's tough."

Another concern for Dal Santo is the form of his key forward Jesse Tawhiao-Wardlaw who has kicked just two goals in the first six matches.

"I think she'd be the first to admit that she's not playing her best football but she's not alone," Dal Santo said.

"You know we're a team and we need to support each other and challenge each other at the right time, and we're all in this together.

"I think she's one person that you've identified out of everybody, coaches as well, the whole program, we want everyone to get a little bit better every week."

The mounting injury tally is certainly a factor affecting Dal Santo’s efforts to get the best out of his list.

Trudgeon was one of multiple injuries sustained in Sunday's 11-point loss to the Eagles, adding to an already depleted Saints’ list. 

First-year player Carys D'Addario was ruled out at half-time with a hip injury and Saoirse Lally fell awkwardly in a tackle before leaving the ground with medical staff in the fourth quarter.

These players will likely join J’Noemi Anderson (hamstring), midfielder Liv Vesely (ankle) and Alice Burke (ACL), among others, on the sidelines.

"We're being challenged with, you know, a little bit of depth at the moment," Dal Santo said.

"I think we've got seven of our best team out at the moment and speak about facts, that's factual. We might have a couple more off the back of today but we'll front up.

"You know we'll put our best foot forward where we can. We'll pick the best team that we can and we go to the Gold Coast next week."