Australia

Gold Coast Suns take Charlie Rowbottom with AFLW top draft pick



Number one AFLW draft pick Charlie Rowbottom has shunned up to eight clubs in her home state of Victoria to head north and play for Gold Coast.

Rowbottom, a powerful midfielder, chose the Suns, with the expansion club having no hesitation in taking the teenager first in Tuesday night’s virtual draft.

Retaining talent has been an issue for Gold Coast, and even reigning AFLW premiers the Brisbane Lions, with the semi-professional players having to juggle football with work and study.

The Suns are coming off a trying second season in the competition, where they finished winless with a percentage of just 36.

But Rowbottom, who is the sister of Sydney Swans midfielder James, could not be more thrilled about moving to south-east Queensland after nominating the Suns in the state-based draft pool.

“I’ve been out of school for a year now, I finished Year 12 in isolation (during 2020),” she said.

“So when Gold Coast came forward and had a chat to me, I was really keen.

“They made me really excited to move up there to the sunshine.

Rowbottom only started playing football about six years ago so her rise to top of the 2021 draft class has been rapid.

She has captained Oakleigh Chargers in Victoria’s under 19 league, and standing at 179 centimetres she is considered tall for a midfielder.

Rowbottom said she had modelled her game on Collingwood star Chloe Molloy, who became one of the AFLW’s most dominant players last season.

It was a bumper draft for the Suns, who had three picks inside the top 10.

Gold Coast grabbed Teagan Levi from Bond University with pick six, as well as Ashanti Bush.

Fellow strugglers Geelong also had a trio of early picks, drafting Georgie Prespakis, the sister of Carlton star and 2020 league best-and-fairest winner Madison, with its first selection.

AAP



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