Charlie Rowbottom (born 22 January 2003) is an Australian rules footballer playing for Gold Coast in the

AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, ...

(AFLW).

Early life

Rowbottom grew up in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

and first played Australian rules football in year eight at

Loreto Mandeville Hall , motto_translation = While I live, I believe in the Cross , location = Toorak, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Melbourne , pushp ...

. She proceeded to play junior football for the East Malvern Knights of the South Metro Junior Football League, and shortly thereafter accepted a position in the

Oakleigh Chargers The Oakleigh Chargers is an Australian rules football club playing in the NAB League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. They are based at Warrawee Park in Oakleigh, Victoria, representing the southeastern suburb ...

girls teams. She is the younger sister of professional men's footballer James Rowbottom, who plays for the Sydney Swans.

Football career

Under the rules of the AFL Women's draft in 2021, Rowbottom was permitted to nominate the state of her choice for selection by an AFLW club. Despite growing up in Victoria, Rowbottom nominated

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, stating that although it would be "a shift in my life, it is all very exciting". had the first overall pick in the draft, and so selected Rowbottom with the number one pick. She played her debut match in round one of the 2022 season against , and recorded 11 disposals. The following round she was nominated for the

AFL Women's Rising Star The AFL Women's Rising Star award is presented annually to the best young player in the AFL Women's (AFLW) during the home-and-away season. The first award was awarded in 2017. The award has been sponsored by National Australia Bank (NAB) since ...

award, in the Suns' 13-point win against . She missed out on winning the Rising Star award by one vote to Carlton's Mimi Hill, though she did win the equivalent award as judged by her peers at the Players Association MVP Awards.

References

External links

Gold Coast Suns profile
* 2003 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Gold Coast Football Club (AFLW) players People educated at Loreto Mandeville Hall Oakleigh Chargers players (Talent League Girls) {{AFL-bio-2000s-stub