Gold Coast SUNS midfielder Charlie Rowbottom’s impressive debut season has been topped off with a second-place finish in the 2022 SUNS AFLW Club Champion.
Taken with the first pick in the 2021 NAB AFLW Draft, Rowbottom finished on 236 votes, just one vote shy of eventual winner Alison Drennan on 237.
The 19-year-old was leading the count heading into the final round of voting, but an impressive Round 10 performance from Drennan saw her retake the lead at the end.
Rowbottom appeared in all 10 games in her first season in the AFLW.
Joining from Oakleigh Chargers, Rowbottom finished the season with the second-highest average for disposals per game for the SUNS, while also recording 6.3 tackles per game as well as being ranked seventh in contested possessions in the competition.
Rowbottom also finished runner-up in the NAB AFLW Rising Star award, finishing just one vote off the top spot.
One of Rowbottom’s best performances of the season came in the 41-point draw against Western Bulldogs in which the AFLW Rising Star Runner-Up had 25 disposals (19 contested) and accumulated 344 metres gained.
Having just completed her first season, Rowbottom will be striving to continue her rapid development in the next AFLW season.
