Fremantle Dockers AFLW star Kiara Bowers on a mission to return to her best after giving birth to son Luca

Fremantle star Kiara Bowers has already proven herself to be one of the best players in AFLW history, but says doubts about returning to her best after giving birth have been the driving factor behind her pre-season. Bowers set the standard for her teammates during last week’s Dockers time trials, finishing second despite sitting out last season to give birth to son Luca. A four-time best-and-fairest, three-time All-Australian and 2021 AFLW MVP winner, Bowers has been one of the league’s brightest stars. But even the tough onballer admits she won’t feel comfortable about returning until her form matches what she’s done in the past. “I still do (have doubts). Until round one when I’m actually able to step out there, I will still have those questions,” Bowers told the West Australian. “But it’s all in the hard yards. If I can do it at training, I can do it in a game. Fingers crossed I get out there in round one and I can prove to myself that I’ve done it. “I was pretty lucky that through the pregnancy I was still able to train most of the way and he came early so I didn’t have to go through the hard yards at the end. “I am one of those weird ones that actually enjoys training, so for me it was an outlet. I’ve got a very supportive partner so as soon as she would get home, I’d go and do a work out.” Already a mum to four-year-old son Nate, Bowers and her partner Adele will travel to games with their children throughout the season, and she is excited they will get to combine family and football. Bowers said having a year away from AFLW had totally changed her perspective on footy and introduced a different type of energy to her game. “Towards the back end of the last season I played, I was a bit burnt out by doing full time work and being a mum and doing footy,” she said. “To have the year off and absolutely miss playing footy and miss being around the girls, you don’t really know what you’ve got until you don’t have it any more, and I am absolutely pumped to get back out there. “I definitely don’t lower my standards. My standards are pretty high. We’ve got new girls and around them I can better myself and hopefully make them better around me.”