SHE'S captured all the headlines in the lead up to the NAB AFLW Draft, and is set to be taken with pick No.1 by Gold Coast.

So, who exactly is Charlie Rowbottom?

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Despite coming from a football family – older brother James plays for Sydney – Rowbottom didn't start playing the sport until year eight at Loreto Mandeville Hall in Toorak.

In the space of six years (she graduated last year and is now studying a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne), Rowbottom has improved to the extent she is now in the top handful of players in the country.

Rowbottom was set to be taken with one of the first Victorian picks before nominating Queensland, lured by a number of factors including family connections in the state, as well as the beach for the keen surf lifesaver.

Standing at 179cm and captaining the Oakleigh Chargers to a NAB League premiership, the midfielder has proven to be a handful at under-19 level, especially when bursting from stoppages.

"I went to the East Malvern Knights in year nine, then the Oakleigh Chargers after that," Rowbottom told womens.afl.

"It was just always playing for fun, playing the best footy I can and seeing where it takes me.

"My brother always played, and my dad would kick the footy with him. I'd come from a netball and basketball background, and got drawn into the game, I guess, and just loved it.

"On the field, I love to take the overhead marks, I love to run, and the tackling as well, the aggression of the game, I love that."

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Rowbottom nominated Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury as a player she has looked up to, and then hurriedly agreeing with a grin when her own brother was raised as a possible role model.

"Him as well, he's all right. He's had an influence on my game as well," Rowbottom said.

"We talk about footy, and other things. He gives me tips on the game, what I can do better, even off-field stuff and helping me be a better player.

"He's talked to me a bit about recovery as well as my on-field skills, what I need to improve, a lot like that."

As Rowbottom has risen through the ranks, she's been keeping an increasingly close eye on the AFLW, particularly as friends such as Mimi Hill have been drafted.

Despite her lofty place in the top tier of draft-eligible players, she reeled off a list of areas she has been working on, including kicking on the run, ground balls and disposing the ball with her left side.

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"It's been inspiring for me. I've been asking the girls what I can do better to improve, and they've been giving me some tips," Rowbottom said.

"Just the level of professionalism, the recovery, the diet, it's just a lot more intense, which I like.

"If I do get the opportunity to play at such a high level, that'd be fantastic. I do like the intensity, so it'd be good to fully immerse in it."