Following his retirement after ongoing injuries, Alex Woodward has returned to the AFL landscape to help the next generation of female footballers at the Saints.

The 28-year-old spent five years at Hawthorn after he was drafted in 2011, winning the J.J. Liston Trophy (the VFL’s Best and Fairest) in 2014 while playing for affiliate Box Hill.

Moving to Collingwood’s VFL side in 2017, Woodward finished up third in the J.J. Liston Trophy for 2018, despite only playing eight games.

After his retirement in 2019, Woodward returned to the AFL fold in 2021 as an assistant midfield coach with the Saints’ AFLW side.

Woodward pared back his coaching duties due to work commitments ahead of AFLW Season 7, taking up a Football Craft role alongside current St Kilda men's player Mason Wood.