Experience and leadership were the two traits St Kilda needed to fill during the 2021 Sign & Trade Period, and Alana Woodward fit the bill for both.

A natural leader and strong on-baller, the 31-year-old joined the club as a delisted free agent following two seasons at Richmond. During her time on-field in yellow and black, she was deployed as both an inside midfielder and a tagger to curtail the likes of Emma Kearney, Ellie Blackburn and Jaimee Lambert.

Woodward was an inaugural member of the Tigers’ AFLW and VFLW squads, playing an important role in shaping both sides from the ground up.

Now in red, white and black, Woodward will look to do the same as St Kilda’s young brigade continues to take shape heading into its third year of competition.

Occupation: Operations Manager at Adams Food Group, undertaking an MBA at Swinburne University of Technology