Tom Green v Matt Rowell: GWS gun opens up over heated rivalry after Giants’ win over Suns
Tom Green has been dirty at being draft nine spots behind Matt Rowell for years, but after having the best of both the former No. 1 and the Suns, he opens up about his rivalry.
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The battle of the midfield guns from the 2019 draft on Sunday afternoon didn’t disappoint as Tom Green and Matt Rowell went head-to-head in a heavyweight tussle where the Giants’ star eventually came out on top.
From the very first bounce at Engie Stadium, it was clear the midfield was where the momentum of the game was set to turn on a dime.
The Suns put on a clinic in the early exchanges and raced out to a four-goal lead, but led by Green, Finn Callaghan and some emerging players in Nick Madden and Harry Rowston, GWS eventually turned the tide.
Rowell and Green’s careers have shared a similar trajectory for many years. Both taken in the top 10 of the 2019 draft, Rowell at No. 1 by Gold Coast and Green at No. 10 by GWS, they’ve built their name on winning hard-contested ball and becoming clearance specialists.
They lived up to that reputation during the Giants’ gutsy seven-point win on Sunday.
The pair had 28 clearances between them. Green’s individual total of 16 was the most by a Giants player in the history of the club.
Going into the clash, the Suns’ midfield power was set to be the difference maker. And although they just edged out the Giants on the day, the fact that it was close is a credit to Green and the work he has put in to ensure he’s not just winning the ball, but he’s using it efficiently.
The Green of old has previously been outspoken in his belief that he could be considered the number-one player in his class if it were redrafted today. But while that’s an honour that Rowell will always hold, it speaks to the maturity of Green that it’s no longer about having a point to prove when he comes up against the Gold Coast star.
For him, it’s much bigger than Rowell, Noah Anderson or any of the nine players taken above him in 2019.
“It’s less about the similar draft and more that (Rowell’s) a really good player,” Green said.
“I like the challenge of playing on really, really good players. Their midfield as a whole, Rowell’s really strong and a fantastic inside mid.
“Noah Anderson and Touk Miller are both great at both (playing inside and outside). And so I knew it was going to be a massive challenge in there.
“That is something that I always set myself for. I want to perform and go head-to-head with some of the best players in the competition. And it was nice to do that. I felt like I held my own, and it was good.”
“I feel like this has probably been my best year at being really effective around the clearance,” Green said.
“I had no idea about the numbers, but I felt like I was getting my hands on it, getting us first use and allowing us to get the ball going our way, which is my biggest role in our team. It’s nice to be able to do that and contribute in that way to a win.”
Giants coach Adam Kingsley added: “He goes head to head with the best clearance midfielder in the game in Matt Rowell and maybe in that space comes out on top.”
But in the battle for the Expansion Cup, it was easy to see what it meant to Green and the rest of his Giants’ teammates.
The goal he kicked in the final term, selling candy and sidestepping two Suns defenders before kicking truly, was a highlight that will follow him for years.
Tom Green sells the candy twice and gets the Giants within a kick ðŸ¬#AFLGiantsSunspic.twitter.com/J4xrtKeSov
— AFL (@AFL) June 22, 2025
It was only matched by the passionate celebration, adding the cherry on top of one of the biggest performances of his career.
“I nearly missed it, to be honest, it just snuck through,” Green said. “I didn’t really keep my composure well after that. There was a rush of blood, and I celebrated pretty hard.”
The Giants still clearly have work to do on their midfield craft. Green described their first quarter as “terrible”, while they lost clearances by five and contested possessions by 21.
But as Suns coach Damien Hardwick confirmed post-match, the difference between the sides was in the big moments. As good as Rowell, Anderson, and company are, they’re yet to taste the do-or-die nature of September footy.
For Green, he’s already played in six finals, including a preliminary final against Collingwood at the MCG. And as the pressure ramped up against the Suns, that incomparable experience came to the fore as the Giants found a way to secure an unlikely victory.
“I don’t think throughout the year our confidence has wavered at any point,” Green said.
“We haven’t been at our best at certain moments. It doesn’t help when we lose two special players in Sam Taylor and Brent Daniels.
“We just know the resilience in this group. Not only did you see some of our really slick ball movement, but also our desperation to defend. Joe Fonti’s last quarter, his desperate efforts were incredible.
“I thought we showed that not only can we move the ball, score, play great footy, we can also really slog it out, repeat stoppages, do what we need and win ugly as well.”
Originally published as Tom Green v Matt Rowell: GWS gun opens up over heated rivalry after Giants’ win over Suns
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