How No. 1 draft fancy Matthew Rowell announced himself as a future AFL player with five successive junior league medals

Predictions powerful midfielder Matthew Rowell will be a ‘ready-made’ AFL player and this year’s likely No. 1 pick come as little surprise to those who watched him win five consecutive league medals as a junior.

Those in the inner eastern suburbs have long known of Matthew Rowell’s football ability well before he announced himself to a national audience.

His achievements in the Yarra Junior Football League speak to his standing as one of the most talented juniors to come out of the fertile football region.

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Rowell won a string of league medals from 2011 to 2015 between under-10s and under-14s. He was crowned the YJFL’s best and fairest in the top division for five consecutive years, and in 2016 finished runner-up to Oakleigh Chargers teammate Dylan Williams.

It’s why Rowell’s emergence as an early candidate to go No. 1 in this year’s AFL draft has come as little surprise to those who have taken a mustard-keen interest in his junior football.

Chargers talent manager Jy Bond said the Carey Grammar student was a “ready-made” AFL player.

Some believe clubs would have drafted him last year if available, while others privately suggest he could have as great an impact in his first year at the elite level as Carlton’s Sam Walsh.

Bond said Rowell’s competitiveness stood him above others.

Matthew Rowell bursts away from congestion during the AFL Academy’s victory over Casey Demons at the MCG. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos/Getty Images)

“I think AFL clubs look at Matt Rowell and they know what they’re going to get — they know they’re going to get a 200-game player, they know they’re going to get someone who works hard, they know he’s someone who’s going to compete,” Bond said.

“I’ve seen in terms of his football, his desire to play and perform … he doesn’t take any time out, he is 100 per cent at training, recovery and games. That’s why he’s as good as he is. He prepares and he wants to win and wants to play well.”

Junior coach Craig Spagnol, who mentored Rowell at Canterbury Cobras in the under-10s and under-11s, said Rowell was “the best junior footballer I’ve seen” in 20 years.

“There’s something very special about him … he played well every week, he played to the best of his ability. That’s just the type of kid he was,” Spagnol said.

“Even playing in older age groups, he was always consistently in the best players when he’d go up and play out of his own age group and he did that a lot.

“There’s something special about Matt and I don’t think anyone who’s ever seen him play or the kids he’s played with and against have never thought that he won’t make it. He stands out that much.”

Matt Rowell was a rising star as a junior in the Yarra Junior Football League.

Matt Rowell in his junior days at Canterbury Cobras. Picture: Anne Dempsey

Rowell said the Cobras gave him the foundations for his game.

“They taught me the fundamentals of the game and making sure I got those right so that was really important for me,” Rowell said.

“I loved playing at Canterbury in my junior career … it was a very strong community club and I made some really strong friendships from there.

“We had some tough losses but some really good wins as well so it was a really good junior club for me.”

The Mont Albert resident has quickly established a reputation as a big-game player.

The 17-year-old was awarded best-on-ground honours in last year’s losing NAB League grand final, and was named best afield for the AFL Academy side in a clash against Casey Demons last month.

He said he prided himself on “stepping up in the big moments”.

“That’s something I want to be known for and being able to play well when the pressure’s on,” he said.

“It’s something really good to have but it also gives me confidence as well to know I can do that when the time arises.”

Matthew Rowell is a powerful midfielder who models his game on Joel Selwood. Picture: Michael Dodge/AFL Media/Getty Images.

His physical appearance has drawn comparisons to Geelong flag-winning skipper Cameron Ling, but Rowell models his game on a former teammate of the three-time premiership Cat.

“The main one probably is Joel Selwood,” he said.

“I kind of go about my footy in the same sort of way — lead by example and getting the job done.

“The backbone of my game is hard work so that’s probably the main thing I liken myself to him.”

Spagnol said Rowell showed traits early in his career he would flourish into a talented footballer.

“At junior footy, he had a great ability to read the play. He was very strong overhead and he had the ability to push back and intercept mark,” Spagnol said.

“He had the pace and the confidence to take on kids when he ran with the ball so when he got it, he had that natural ability to run with the ball in his hand and look for targets up the field.”

YJFL general manager Peter Nicholls said Rowell’s achievements in the competition were near unprecedented.

A search of the records revealed Box Hill Hawks’ Nathan Boucher also won five league best and fairest awards between 2009 and 2014.

“Matt’s been a standout player all the way through, not only in the competition but in the representative teams he’s played in,” Nicholls said.

“He’s very committed, hard at it, never gives in. You could see right from the age of 12 and 13 that he was a standout in his age group.”