Midfielder Kiara Bowers has been crowned Fremantle’s AFLW Fairest and Best in front of 250 guests at the Crown Ballroom on Friday night.
Bowers polled 115 votes from eight games, which included the club’s seven home and away games and Fremantle’s preliminary final appearance.
She narrowly edged out 2017 club champion and 2018 runner-up Dana Hooker, who polled 101 votes.
Forward Gemma Houghton finished third with 93 votes with Stephanie Cain and Ebony Antonio rounding out the top five.
Senior coach Trent Cooper and assistant coaches Craig Thomas, Amy Lavell and Lisa Webb awarded votes from zero to five per game for each player. A player can receive a maximum of 20 votes for an outstanding performance.
There was one perfect 20 this season, a rare occurrence in these awards, given to Bowers for her 23 disposal and 16 tackle performance against the Western Bulldogs in round five.
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Bowers joins teammates Antonio and Hooker as well as the likes of Matthew Pavlich, Nat Fyfe, Aaron Sandilands and Peter Bell as club champions at Fremantle.
The win caps off a successful debut season in the AFLW for Bowers, who missed the opening two seasons due to knee injuries.
Earlier in the night, she was awarded the Players’ Award, which acknowledges the player who best displays the values set by the playing group at the start of the season.
This week she was also named All Australian at the W Awards and finished runner-up in the AFLW Players’ MVP award.
Senior coach Trent Cooper said Bowers’ achievements were extraordinary considering the midfielder wasn't expected to be available for the start of the season.
“At the start of the year, we didn’t even pencil her name in on the team sheet as we didn’t know if she would play,” Cooper said.
“Her efforts this year were fantastic. Statistically, she was the number one ranked player in the AFL by Champion Data ranking points, her tackling pressure lifted us across the line on a few occasions and her offensive work got better as the year went on.
“She’s a complete midfielder that we’re very lucky to have and she’s a very deserving winner of the 2019 AFLW Fairest and Best.
In other awards announced on the night, Evie Gooch was awarded Best Clubwoman and Philipa Seth won the Best First Year Player award.
Gooch helped lead the way in defence and she has been recognised for her contributions to the club as a whole, helping especially with the integration of the first-year players.
Seth finished sixth overall in the Fairest and Best and was announced the Best First Year player award as the highest ranked first-year player aged 25 and under.
Drafted with pick no.28 in the 2018 NAB AFLW Draft, Seth was one of Freo’s most consistent performers in 2019, playing all eight games and often taking on some difficult team roles.
