SOME footballers place a high value on their ability to rack up a big possession count.

Kiara Bowers has never been one of those players.

Instead, the gritty midfielder from Western Australia emphasises her ability to tackle, bump and shepherd.

“I’m not really someone who wants the most disposals,” Bowers tells melbournefc.com.au.

“I think at the end of the game, one of my first questions is ‘how many one-percenters did I get?’

“If I get up there in the top three then I feel like I’ve had a good game but if I don’t, then I’ll shoot myself in the foot a bit.”

In the most recent AFL women’s game, Bowers underlined her reputation with 11 tackles, seven contested possessions (23 overall) and six rebound 50s.

She also managed to hit the scoreboard and generally provided run and drive around the ground, another defining characteristic of her game.

“I pride myself on my endurance so I know at the end of the game I’m going to be able to run the game out better than anyone else and so I’ll be able to tackle them because I’ll be fitter,” she says.

It’s this ability to run out games that has led to team mates nicknaming her ‘Turbo’, a name that’s stayed with her at Melbourne.

“‘Turbo’ isn’t a nickname I chose myself – I couldn’t actually tell you [how it came about] – it just happened one time that one of the girls called me ‘Turbo’ and it’s stuck,” she says.

“I’m definitely not the fastest on the field and I wouldn’t beat anyone in a sprint but I think at the end of the game I’ve got the endurance and seem fast – that’s all I can guess [the nickname] comes down to.”

In addition to making her mark in the three AFL games to date, Bowers is one of Western Australia’s most influential players.

Bowers has won the Dhara Kerr Fairest and Best award (best player in the West Australian Women’s Football League) three times – and did so in back-to-back seasons in 2013/2014.

But despite her accolades, things haven’t always been easy for the hard-working midfielder.

Despite a strong performance in the 2014 women’s game, Bowers just missed out on being one of Melbourne’s six retained players and was delisted ahead of the 2015 draft.

But rather than letting the disappointment get to her, Bowers worked harder than ever before and her efforts paid off, with Melbourne re-drafting the midfielder at pick no. 4.

“Getting delisted was kind of a blessing because you just want to push yourself that much harder and you want to get in the team,” she says.

“I barrack for Melbourne so I was just rapt to get back into Melbourne.

“So for me it was a blessing and I enjoyed it – [both] the sadness of getting [delisted] and also the excitement of coming back into it.”

Making Bowers’ time at Melbourne even more exciting is the presence of a plethora of Western Australians at the club, including four of her Coastal Titans teammates.

“We’ve got five girls from Coastal Titans and obviously a bunch of WA girls so it’s really good,” she says.

“You train with them every Tuesday and Thursday and you know how they play and you go out on the field and run out with them on this big stage.

“You feel pretty good to run out with the girls - it’s one of the best things.”

With Channel 7 telecasting the game live on television for the first time, there is also the opportunity for Bowers’ family, also based in Perth, to easily tune in.

“I’ve got a lot of brothers and sisters so they’re not all able to get over there,” she says.

“They’ll all have themselves parked up on the couch no doubt at 10.30am Perth time to watch the game so I’m pretty excited for them to watch it.

“In the last couple of years it’s just been streamed [not televised], so I know that they’re excited which makes me even more excited.”