Joel Trudgeon has always dreamed of playing under the bright lights of the AFL. Destined for success after making the Victoria under 12’s football side, a dominant junior career for Research Football Club and the Northern Knights followed that.
However, in November of 2020 after 97 picks across the national draft, rookie draft, pre-season draft and pre-season supplemental selection period, Trudgeon’s name had not been read out. His childhood dream of playing elite level football had seemingly been dashed just like that.
This is the story of Joel Trudgeon, an everyday bloke who grew up in Melbourne and his journey of resilience and persistence in the hope of reaching the big time.
Trudgeon’s football journey began at the Greensborough Junior Football Club, with fond memories of booting the kangaroo skin around on cold and frosty Saturday morning’s during Auskick sessions with his brother and old man.
A strong family influence fostered the now 22-year-olds path towards football after growing up in St Helena, about 45 minutes north-east of Melbourne’s CBD. He soon went on to play junior football with his older brother and everything kicked off from there.
“I grew up in St Helena and lived there my whole life. I had a really supportive family and extended family and played Auskick through Greensborough and Bright Hill,” Trudgeon said.
“It was just whenever Dad was helping out, after that I just played my local footy and juniors at Research because my brother was playing there. I was fortunate enough to follow in his footsteps and I think I sort of looked up to him a little bit, so I tried to do whatever he did.”
Trudgeon says that he knew his footy could take him far from as early as 12 years of age of achieving a major football milestone.
“First taste of it was probably going right back to Team Vic days. I made the Under 12’s team and you look back at it now and three quarters of the team is on an AFL list still so it’s sort of a surreal feeling,” he said.
“All of a sudden, you’re in the elite environment and you’re playing against the best in the other states. From there it was sort of okay, I’ve got a taste for it, and you get exposed to professional habits and what it takes to be the best in your sport.”
‘Trudge’ took valuable lessons from those experiences at a young age which helped him further his game and develop a relentless work rate that brought him oh so close playing AFL. In 2021, the year after being overlooked in the draft as an 18-year-old, Trudgeon produced one of the best junior seasons on record for the Northern Knights.
He was captain of the team with a dominant season culminating in him being crowned as the clubs best and fairest while also making the NAB League Team of the Year. Despite this he failed to have his name called out on draft night, and was overlooked once again.
The 22-year-old would’ve had every right to be disappointed and bitter with the decision, but he was able to move on quickly and has since forged a great career for himself in the VFL, which has helped put his name back up in lights.
“I had a good year, it was sort of tough with Covid in 2021, it was smack bang in the middle, but I think if you sort of go and say you’re unlucky [to not get drafted], you’re feeling sorry for yourself and acting like the world’s about to end,” he said.
“I think it took me a couple of days to get over it.”
“I sort of had a bit of perspective and you’ve got to look at the bigger picture and where you are at with life. It’s not the be all and end all, post that I think the life skills I’ve learnt, I’ve been super grateful for.”
The Coburg star has fond memories of the whole draft process even though it didn’t bring the desired outcome, but with it being during the Covid-19 pandemic, he described the whole thing as a “bizarre” experience.
“I spoke to a few clubs, it was online meetings, and it was a bizarre moment because it was lockdowns and a lot going on in the background,” he said.
“With the footy club side of things, I spoke to a few clubs, and I sort of had hope and I was training hard and staying ready. It got to a point where the draft happened, and it didn’t happen [for me] and a few hours passed. I was disappointed.”
He soon signed for Carlton in the VFL after playing two games as the 23rd man in 2021, and was also on Carlton’s AFL top-up list during the covid effected season of 2022.
I couldn’t sort of let it define me as a person, but the whole experience I was super grateful for – Joel Trudgeon on being overlooked in the AFL Draft.
The big-bodied midfielder said playing for an AFL aligned club like Carlton had its benefits allowing him to continue to pursue his dream of playing AFL before the Lions came calling.
“I think initially going to an aligned club early had its perks and appealed to me just to try and push that AFL case and try and leave no stone unturned,” he said.
In his last season before joining Coburg, he managed just three VFL games, playing for the Box Hill Hawks, with the former Carey Grammar student soon deciding that he needed a change of scenery.
Coburg Football Club’s Head of Development Jeremy Dickson was vital in getting Trudgeon across to the Lions with the pair sharing a strong relationship from their time together at Carey Grammar.
“I am fortunate enough to be in contact with him all the time and he’s still involved heavily at Coburg,” Trudgeon said.
“He was massive in getting me across and I think the notion was just pushing on the fact to just try and enjoy your footy and come to a club where there’s less things out of your control in regard to team selection.”
“Really just get back to the footy that you know you’re capable of playing rather than just playing local footy and wasting a few years there. So, Jez was huge in that regard and I think I’ve got a lot to thank him for.”
The 2024 season panned out very nicely for Trudgeon, with his side also winning their most games in a season since 2016. The 22-year-old was one of the major positive injections into the club that allowed Coburg to flourish, with their star midfielder producing a glistening year in red and navy blue.
At the end of the home and away season he sat in the league’s top 10 players in a plethora of statistics including tackles (2nd), handballs (3rd), total disposals (8th) and total fantasy points (5th). He is highly fancied for the Jim Sullivan Medal as Coburg’s best and fairest, while he will also feature heavily in the J.J Liston Trophy for the league’s best and fairest player.
“Not even I would’ve known what was there for me when I signed here, but I’ve had a ball and I love the club really” – Trudgeon on signing with Coburg
He attributes his great season to all the hard work that was put in by the playing group and coaching staff in the pre-season as they built for a big season, as well as getting back to enjoying playing football again.
“A big pre-season sort of set the platform, Jamie pushed us pretty hard in the pre-season and then it was pretty much what Jez sort of touched on, enjoy your footy,” he said.
“I think I’ve figured I’ve played my best footy when you’re having a laugh on gameday, during the week and footy trainings not a drag, you enjoy these few hours you get here [at training].”
Within minutes of sitting down with the talented youngster, you quickly gather how driven he is to get every ounce out of himself, but it’s the brotherhood that he’s already formed with his teammates at Coburg that will keep him coming back to Piranha Park. He is a down-to-earth character and loves what he does whether that’s at VFL or AFL level.
“There’s some things about being a VFL footballer that I’m pretty grateful to be exposed to as opposed to being an AFL footballer. So, I try to look at the positive side of things rather than just focus on the poor me mentality,” he said.
“I’d love to be on an AFL list, but the skills you learn as a VFL footballer are massive as a person and growing as an individual, so I’m grateful I’ve learned those skills and if an AFL chance came calling, I’d take it.”
The 22-year-old is keen to “enjoy the break” before getting stuck into another pre-season but is equally as excited to see what the boys can produce in season 2025.
“I’ll probably just enjoy the break, give myself a bit of time off but also try and get back and work on some deficiencies in my game and come back ready to go,” he said.
“I think when you look at the list, it’s only exciting to see where it could go. It would be silly to say that there’s a ceiling on this group and moving forward there’s endless opportunities if we train hard and play the best team footy we can.”
He is excited for the challenge of backing up his most recent season with another good one next year and is grateful that he experienced the club at its worst on-field upon his arrival, allowing for him to soak in the stark progression of the group in the coming years.
“It’s good putting one good season together, but you want to make sure you do it consecutively and can do it for next year in 2025,” he said.
“I think I came at a time when the club was probably at its lowest and being a part of bringing success to the club and bringing a changing of the guard is exciting.”
“Come next year or the year after when we’re winning more games and fighting for finals, you’ll look back at the harder times and you go this is massive from where the club’s come from.”
Off the field Trudgeon stays busy working as a Project Co-ordinator for construction company Tycorp while also studying a Bachelor of Applied Science majoring in Construction Management at RMIT University.
“It keeps me busy, got a few long days of study in the books but besides that what I enjoy is hanging with mates, walking the dog, I enjoy that.
I think when you spend a lot of time with around other people, it’s also good to have a bit of time to yourself, so put some music in, chill out and stuff like that. I think that’s sort of what my hobbies are a little bit and I think I enjoy spending time with the boys.
The future is bright for Trudgeon and while he hopes it involves playing AFL, the connections and memories he has formed with the Coburg Lions will help drive him to achieve team success.
