‘Badge of honour’: Why James Rowbottom is happy to embrace underrated tag

Currently playing his sixth season in the AFL and despite being a regular in the Swans’ B&F, James Rowbottom has never polled a Brownlow vote. Celebrating a new long-term deal, he tells LACHLAN McKIRDY why he wouldn’t have it any other way.

James Rowbottom has signed a new four-year contract to extend his stay at the Swans. Picture: Phil Hillyard

It’s the statistic that still surprises the Sydney Swans’ inner sanctum.

Despite finishing in the top three for the club’s best-and-fairest for the past two years, industrious midfielder James Rowbottom has never once polled a Brownlow vote.

The 23-year-old has played 97 matches in the AFL and has quickly become known as a tackling machine. In 2023, he broke Brett Kirk’s record for the most tackles by a Swan in a season (171) and had another 13 in their loss last weekend to Richmond.

But Rowbottom perennially flies under the radar with his performances seemingly yet to be worthy of wider recognition.

“It’s kind of cool that I’ve almost played 100 games and haven’t got a Brownlow vote,” Rowbottom said.

“It doesn’t really bother me, I don’t play to get votes every week. To have the trust and confidence of the players and coaches inside the four walls is all I really care about.”

Rowbottom was one of Sydney’s best against the Tigers with another double-digit tackling performance. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

It’s a sentiment shared by his teammates, with Rowbottom voted the club’s most underrated player before the season.

A consistent member of the Swans’ best 23, he played 24 games in each of the past two years and has never been one to shirk his on and off-field responsibilities.

“I think it’s just he does all the stuff that maybe people don’t notice, the tackling, the in and under stuff,” Logan McDonald said. “It certainly doesn’t go unnoticed within our footy club and he’s highly valued … we’re thankful he plays for us.”

Where some players might resent the description, Rowbottom is happy to embrace the underrated tag. And Swans fans will have more time to sing his praises with the midfielder putting pen to paper on a new four-year deal to extend his stay at the club through to the end of 2028.

“To be underrated I find is a bit of a badge of honour,” Rowbottom said. “To have the trust of my teammates, that’s what I’ve strived for since I walked in the door.

“It’s an added bonus of playing footy in Sydney. You’ve got the faithful standing behind you and then the people outside the four walls don’t tend to bother us as much.

“I was pretty excited to get the deal done before the year was finished. It’s also a nice honour for the club to commit to me for that length of time and I didn’t hesitate to sign.”

The 23-year-old was always confident that his future would see him stay in Sydney. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Despite being one of several high-profile players off-contract at the end of the year, Rowbottom felt his future was always destined to be in Sydney.

And his signing could be the first of many dominoes to fall as the Swans look to keep the core of their young nucleus together. Errol Gulden will likely be the next major priority, with the Swans going back and forth on the details of his deal for the best part of a month.

Focus will then shift to the likes of Ollie Florent, Will Hayward and Logan McDonald with Sydney hopeful they will have the cap space to keep all five players. Rowbottom is confident they could all follow his lead.

“I wouldn’t say (we talk about contracts) a lot,” he said. “But I think each individual will know how special what we’re building here is and how much of a connection we have.

“And if you leave, the chances are it might not be as great a connection at another club. I think every person should be able to see the chance of success that we’ve got here in front of us.

“We’ve all played a fair chunk of footy together now. Even though we are young by age, we’re not too young from an experience point of view.

“It’s said a lot but we are genuinely best mates. We love playing, hanging out and living together. So that plays a big factor coming from interstate and I wouldn’t want to want to lose that.”

Rowbottom is hopeful the core of the Swans’ young group will stay together with success just around the corner. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Now in his sixth season of senior footy, Rowbottom has established himself as one of the best pressure players in the competition. He currently leads the AFL for tackles per game (10.5) and is second for pressure acts (29.8).

While physicality is his main weapon, he’s ready to showcase the rest of his arsenal. And although Rowbottom has the security of a new long-term contract, he’s determined to lean on his teammates to ensure he isn’t resting on his laurels.

“There’s young kids that come in every year, they want to take your spot,” Rowbottom said. “The pressure to perform is real, especially with the health of the list at the moment, it’s a great problem to have.

“The past few years I’ve really solidified (tackling) as my key part of the game. But I’m trying to add other strings to my bow on top of that to make me a more rounded player.

“If I can add more uncontested possessions and maybe some scoreboard damage, it’s being consistent and learning off guys like Errol and Millsy who are good with that. So, I’ve been sitting down with them and trying to understand better running patterns and opportunities to get those possessions.

“That can help the team as well because if I can chip in it means they have less of a workload as well.”

Originally published as ‘Badge of honour’: Why James Rowbottom is happy to embrace underrated tag