The 22-year-old, at the end of 2019, was named in the Prime Minister's XI for their match with Fuji in Suva.

She then pulled on the Red V and represented the Dragons at this year's NRL Nines in Perth.

Cowan, in the past month, helped the Eagles win a Group Seven women's league tag premiership and also won the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks' Player of the Year award, for her strong season in the NSW women's premiership.

"I thought I played really well this season, especially considering I shifted from hooker to lock at the start of the year with Keely Davis joining our side," Cowan said.

"I've always played between the two positions but playing at lock, I had more freedom to make runs and tackles as I pleased - as well as it being a lot less stressful.

"I'm proud to receive the award and it shows all my hard work is being recognised, especially during this weird season, which was my hardest to date both physically and mentally.

"With no one knowing if the season would go ahead, we were forced to train a lot by ourselves, which I found very hard."

The Lake Illawarra High School alumna's journey in the sport started at five.

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"My parents first got me involved in rugby league when I was five-years-of-age and I've loved it ever since," Cowan said.

She played with the Windang Sharks until the age of 12, before not being able to play as there were no girls teams - seeing her try her hand at refereeing as a way to stay involved.

At 16, she restarted playing, this time with Port Kembla.

After a season with the Blacks, she helped Corrimal win an Illawarra premiership in 2015 before joining Cronulla-Caringbah in the following year in Sydney.

"A number of my friends from the Helensburgh side were starting a team in Sydney and I jumped on board, as I wanted a new challenge," Cowan said.

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She made it two premierships in two seasons in 2016, when her Sharks won the Sydney Metropolitan Women's Rugby League competition.

At the start of the 2018 season, Cronulla-Sutherland absorbed Cowan's side and for the past three years, they've been playing under the Sharks banner.

During this time is when Cowan really started to make a name for herself.

In June 2019, Cowan pulled in the NSW City women's jersey three times, helping them defeat their NSW Country counterparts 34-4 in the final.

"Playing for City was really special, as it was my first real taste of representative footy," Cowan said.

Strong performances at the women's national championships got Cowan invited into the Prime Minister's XIII preliminary squad.

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"There was a big group of us training together for that side, before they started making cuts," she said.

"Because it was after the season was done, we had a fair bit individual training, which was tough - but it was all worth it when I made the final squad.

"Playing over in Fiji is something I'll never forget - it's definitely the highlight of my footy career to date."

Cowan's whirlwind 12 months continued at the start of 2020 when she was part of Daniel Lacey's Dragons squad for the NRL Nines in Perth.

"The nines was another great learning experience for me, as it was my first taste of the NRLW competition, showing I'm not far away from playing at that level," she said.

"In saying that, I know there's still plenty of hard work in front of me if I want to get to that level.

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"The NRLW isn't necessarily the dream for me - I just want to play the best I can each time I step on the field and if something good comes from it, so be it.

"If not, I won't stress too much about it, because at the end of the day it's just footy - I can only worry about what I can control."

Cowan, who is fresh off her maiden Group Seven title, is now going to enjoy her time off before pre-season training with the Sharks starts in November.

"I had so much fun playing with the Park this season," Cowan, who started playing at the Centenary Field-based side in 2019, said.

"It provided a solid balance between my league commitments, with there being very little overlap [she missed three Group Seven fixtures].

"It's a different vibe between the two sports and playing tag is a lot more chilled, allowing everyone a chance to enjoy themselves a little more.

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"To win a competition with some of my best friends was amazing and very satisfying.

"I'll now enjoy some time off to recharge the batteries, after just missing out of NSW's final 20-player squad - which I'd been training with over the past few months.

"After having that taste of being around the Origin squad, I'd love to pull on that NSW jersey one day and that's probably my biggest goal in the sport right now and will be my driving force over the summer."

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