New Eagle Sam Petrevski-Seton is excited for a fresh start after a tough few years at Carlton.
The Blues traded the former top 10 draftee to West Coast for pick 52 on Thursday, immediately moving that selection on for Bulldogs defender Lewis Young.
Petrevski-Seton struggled to establish a spot in the Carlton side playing as a rebounding defender across 2021 after struggling in a similar role in 2020.
The 23-year-old said he settled on his decision to request a trade during the season and had a chat with GWS before settling on a return home to Western Australia and the Eagles.
“There was a bit of mixed emotions at the start, but I’m happy now and can’t wait to get stuck into it,” Petrevski-Seton told Sportsday WA.
“There was a time back in Melbourne where I sat down with my manager and I had to ask myself where I would play my best footy at and it was a hard decision to make.
“I always told myself that if I wasn’t in Melbourne I’d be back home playing footy and West Coast was the team that came into mind and it sort of went on from there.
“My manager let me continue my footy and did the work behind the scenes.
“GWS, went and had a couple of chats with them, but things fell into place pretty smoothly I guess.”
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On his role at Carlton and his struggles in 2021, Petrevski-Seton admits being moved around positionally – from the backline, to the wing and then to half forward – did make it challenging for him to find his feet.
“This year was obviously a bit different for me trying to find a role at Carlton,” he said.
“It was a bit different getting thrown around … I didn’t really have a permanent spot or could play a permanent role for the team and build some consistency over the year.
“I found myself in and out of the team. I was lucky they had good development coaches around Carlton.”
He also hopes he can earn a spot in the West Coast midfield and half forward line in 2022.
“I think I’ll play my best footy through the midfield/forward role. That’s where I can play my best footy,” Petrevski-Seton said.
“I know I can do it and there’s patches where that’s showed in my years at Carlton and now arriving at West Coast I can sit down with the coaches and earn the spot and get started from day one of pre-season and try my heart out to play that role through the midfield and half forward and apply forward pressure.”
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