An unstoppable force both on and off the field Kiara Bowers has revealed the traits that made her a champion of the game after she was announced the joint-winner of the 2021 AFL Women’s Best and Fairest.
At 170cm, Bowers said she quickly realised she didn’t have the physical attributes that could alone make her a dominant force as a football player, so she worked even harder on what she could control to become one of the best in the game.
“I know that I’m never going to take a big screamer, I’m too short. I’m never going to kick a 50-metre goal as I’d probably pop a hammy. But I can out-work people,” Bowers said.
“That doesn’t take much for any person, it’s just what you want to put in, so I make sure what I can put in is hard work and that always comes to my game.”
That work ethic came in use when it would have broken almost any other player as she came back from three devastating knee reconstructions through her career.
Her third knee injury came just months after being signed to Fremantle, seeing her miss the opening two seasons of the AFLW in 2017 and 2018.
Since making her debut in round one in 2019, Bowers was named all Australian in 2019, 2020 and 2021. She finished runner-up in the 2020 Best and Fairest before becoming a joint winner in 2021 alongside Collinwood’s Brianna Davey.
She’s also won two club fairest and best, with Fremantle to hold their 2021 count next Friday.
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“I’m actually pretty lucky. I like the two km time trials and I like the gym. It definitely makes it pretty bittersweet after all the time out and all the work that you do put in,” Bowers said.
“I’m still wanting that team success and just being able to get on the park brings that bittersweetness.
“I know we’re all striving for success, and individual success is great but it’s not what we all want, we want that team success. We’ll enjoy this for a little bit and then move on.”
