Charlie Rowbottom has reigned as Gold Coast SUNS Club Champion for a second consecutive season.
Charlie Rowbottom has reigned as Gold Coast SUNS Club Champion for a second consecutive season.
Finishing on 78 votes at today’s SUNS AFLW Club Champion at The Star Gold Coast, Rowbottom is the first SUN to be awarded the club’s most prestigious accolade three times, finishing narrowly ahead of first-year player Havana Harris & co-captain Lucy Single.
The 22-year-old has now polled in the top two across all five Club Champion counts since her debut in 2022.
The SUNS’ gun finished the 2025 campaign with flair, amassing no less than eight of a maximum 10 votes in each of the last seven rounds, highlighted by a standout performance including one goal, 12 tackles and 30 disposals in Round 6.
In her milestone 50th match played in Round 11, Rowbottom’s 36 disposals to go with 27 contested possessions and eight tackles polled the perfect 10.
Rowbottom affirmed her position as one of the league’s finest midfielders for the third season in a row, leading the average contested possession count (15.5) and ranking among the top four players in the disposal count (27.6).
Street Smarts SUNS Academy graduate Havana Harris finished runner-up on 74 votes. Taken with pick No.2 in the 2024 Telstra AFLW, Harris first starred for the Gold Coast in Round 1 against the West Coast Eagles, where she earned an outstanding 8 votes.
The 19-year-old went on to feature in all 12 of the Gold Coast’s fixtures averaging 13.2 disposals and 2.7 tackles and earned a Rising Star Nomination in Round 3.
A strong and consistent campaign from Lucy Single earned the co-captain 72 votes and third place on the podium. The Gold Coast’s first StreetSmarts SUNS Academy graduate to captain the side lead by example in every match, averaging 19.8 disposals and 6.5 tackles.
Throughout the event, Rowbottom’s dominant season was decorated with further recognition from her coaches and peers, receiving the Ganden Engineers & Project Managers Excellence Award as well as the Mackay Regional Council Players’ Player. Harris proved to be a crucial component in Rhyce Shaw’s forward line, taking out the SIXT SUNS Leading Goal Kicker with 11 goals.
Second year SUN Annabel Kievit was named the Kool Beanz SUNS Most Professional before going on to rank among the top five in the Club Champion vote count. Sunny Lappin, who has signalled her intent to nominate the SUNS ahead of the upcoming Telstra AFLW Draft, won the StreetSmarts SUNS Female Academy Player of the Year.
2025 Club Champion Award Winners:
Club Champion: Charlie Rowbottom
Club Champion Runner-Up: Havana Harris
Club Champion Third place: Lucy Single
Most Professional – Presented by Kool Beanz SUNS: Annabel Kievit
Players’ Player – Presented by Mackay Regional Council: Charlie Rowbottom
Excellence Award – Presented by Ganden Engineers & Project Managers: Charlie Rowbottom
Leading Goal Kicker – Presented by SIXT: Havana Harris
Female Academy Player of the Year – Presented by StreetSmarts: Sunny Lappin
2025 GC SUNS Club Champion Top 10:
1st: Charlie Rowbottom (78)
2nd: Havana Harris (74)
3rd: Lucy Single (72)
4th: Niamh McLaughlin (67)
5th: Annabel Kievit (59)
6th: Meara Girvan (58)
7th: Georgia Clayden (53)
=8th: Maddy Brancatisano (49)
=8th: Lily Mithen (49)
10th: Darcie Davies (41)
Voting process: Under a new system in 2025, the Club Champion Award was voted on by the AFLW coaching panel, with the Head Coach and relevant Line Coach allocating each player a score between 0 and 5, reflecting their overall contribution and impact. The maximum votes a player can receive from any one match is 10 votes.
2024 AFLW Club Champion Top 10:
1st: Charlie Rowbottom (313)
=2nd: Daisy D’Arcy (258)
=2nd: Niamh McLaughlin (258)
4th: Meara Girvan (234)
5th: Elise Barwick (227)
6th: Georgia Clayden (225)
7th: Jac Dupuy (223)
8th: Lauren Bella (221)
9th: Clara Fitzpatrick (216)
10th: Charlotte Wilson (213)
