IT WASN'T that Grace Egan was no longer a required player at Richmond that still stings. It was the way she found out.

Twelve months ago, Egan went into her exit meeting at the club where she had spent four years and was told a new contract would not be forthcoming. It capped off a difficult year in which she had spent an extended period in hospital during pre-season, and the Tigers were careening toward an internal review and wholesale change.

For her, it meant finding a new suitor in Adelaide, leaving one club in a state of flux and arriving at another on the cusp of a new era.

Although the move has ultimately led Egan to a happier life on and off the footy field, there are still flashes of that short, to the point exit meeting at the Tigers.

"I do have my moments where I think (negatively about Richmond). I think right now I'm reminded of it because it's the end of the season, and now I see girls questioning if they're going to be at a club or what's going to happen next. And I'm always trying to be positive, and then I'm reminded of what happened to me a year ago, it can literally happen to anyone," Egan told AFL.com.au.

"I feel like (Richmond) could have done it in a better way. I don't feel like I deserved to be told 20 seconds into my exit meeting that I wasn't getting offered another contract. I feel like I put a lot of time and effort into that club, and I built great relationships within that club, from the players to the staff to the board members … But I guess in saying that, it just reminded me that it's a business and unfortunately that's what happens.

"But it's hard to think negatively about it because I'm in such a good position now. I think if I wasn't able to go to another club and have this other opportunity at trying to succeed, I think I'd feel a lot different."

This year has been a new challenge for the 26-year-old, who knew no one when making the move interstate. Her only touchpoint was the club, and even then, she didn't have any strong bonds with the playing group before arriving.

Nevertheless, in the space of 10 months she has found a partner, established a friendship group outside of the club, and even taken her footy to a new level. It's been hard work, but it's absolutely been worthwhile for Egan.

"I'm pretty good at making friends, and I ended up meeting my boyfriend Will very early on in the piece, which was not planned at all. And it's been really nice because Will has a big family here who are also very into footy," Egan said.

"So it's been nice to have a family feel about it as well because that's something that I miss a lot, my family, but then to be able to have a partner whose family loves footy just as much, and I like having them at my games. And then that also comes with Will's friends and a good support system, so that's been a blessing as well."

It means that although Egan is passionate about her footy, about improving, and focusing on being the best player and teammate she can, there is still a way to escape it all despite being away from home.

Walks while listening to music are Egan's favourite thing to do outside of the club – country or techno are her genres – and she is slowly teaching herself to DJ with a set of decks at home ("I'm nothing like Georgia Garnett, she's so great").

She was focused on just being herself from the outset when walking through the doors at Adelaide. There was no point in pretending she was anyone else.

"There's only so long that you can fake it," Egan confessed.

"As soon as I met them, (I was) just myself. I really wanted to get to know the girls and who they were, and not just as footy players, so I really made sure I built those connections in the pre-preseason and pre-season. So by the time that I was playing football with them, I'd built their trust out on the field. I truly believe that you play better footy and others want to as well as long as they trust you off the field, so I made sure that I really built those connections."

And she is seeing the benefits in her footy. For the first time in her eight-season career, Egan did not miss a single session throughout the pre-season, the strength and conditioning program at the Crows is working for her in a way she has never experienced before, and she has great trust in her body to get the job done.

It has coincided with an unexpected move to the forward line. She was sold the dream of being a tough inside midfielder, and trained all pre-season as such. But new coach Ryan Davis is focused on midfielders having a strong second position, so she was thrown to half-forward for one of their practice matches and kicked three goals.

"He thought, 'maybe it's a one-off' and then in the last practice match I played half the game as a half forward, and half in the midfield, and it was the same thing. We found I was very good at that connection piece between the mids and the forwards, as well as hitting the scoreboard," Egan said.

"Ryan has said I played my way into the forward line because I played that role so well. When I wasn't there, they lost that connector from the mids to the forwards, which is a compliment, but also, I was like 'oh, I came here as a mid, am I doing my role not by not being a mid?' But the more I played forward, the more I realised there were some great positions on the footy field, and I've absolutely loved it."

Targets for the game have changed for Egan, now she's trying to ensure she impacts on the scoreboard every game, offer an extra hand at the contest when required, and fill a different need.

It bore "the best feeling in the world" when Egan kicked Adelaide's first goal of the season back in round one. The celebration from her teammates for taking that leap – both interstate and positionally – was something special, as was hearing her goal song play through the speakers of Unley Oval so early in her time at the club.

"It just took all the weight off my shoulders because after that I felt like, 'all right, now I can just play'," Egan said.

She can now admit she is truly happy for the first time in a while.

"It has brought so much joy back into my football," Egan said.

"Because those girls have shown me that you can win games and work very hard, but you can still be yourself and have a personality and enjoy yourself while you're doing it, which is something that I really lost at Richmond in those last, I'd say, two or three years."