Sydney midfielder James Rowbottom set for 100th AFL game

James Rowbottom isn’t interested in stat padding. The Sydney Swans midfielder only focuses on one statistic. Ahead of his 100th game, he tells LACHLAN MCKIRDY about becoming the AFL’s best tackler.

Sydney's James Rowbottom and Suns' Noah Anderson during the Round 6 AFL match between the Sydney Swans and Gold Coast Suns at the SCG on April 21, 2024. Photo by Phil Hillyard (Image Supplied for Editorial Use only - **NO ON SALES** - ©Phil Hillyard )

When some forwards come from the ground, they’ll have a glance at how their day’s work has impacted the Coleman Medal ladder.

Conversely, midfielders might look at their disposal or contested possession averages to see where they stack up with the rest of the competition.

But Sydney’s James Rowbottom only looks at one figure following the final siren: tackles.

“I definitely (look at it) post-game,” he said. “That’s something you want to pride yourself on.

“I don’t set myself a target. I just focus on a couple of keywords that get me going through the start of the game — power, bodywork and communication.

“The more (tackles) you lay, the more involved you are. Statistics aren’t something we focus on as a group, it’s more the KPIs we focus on as a team and if we can tick those off, we generally win.”

Sydney's James Rowbottom is one of the premier pressure players in the AFL.

Rowbottom, who will celebrate his 100th game this weekend against Hawthorn, leads the AFL for tackles per game (9.2) and average pressure points (71.4) this season. He is also leading the Swans for pressure acts (26.7) as one of their most important midfield weapons.

Sydney’s best work in recent years stems from their ability to generate pressure. They’re the third-best team in the competition for pressure factor differential, and Rowbottom knows that he sets the example for his teammates to follow.

“I think that’s my role in the team and if I don’t bring that it can lack a bit,” Rowbottom said.

“As we saw in that second quarter (against Gold Coast), if everyone’s off it can make a big difference to how we score.

“I pride myself on bringing that pressure and intensity around the ball and if that’s what I can do to help the team, I want to continue to do it.”

That responsibility has often taken a toll on the 23-year-old. In 2023, Rowbottom broke the record for most tackles in a season by a Swan (176), breaking Brett Kirk’s 170 in 2009. But by the end of the year, he admitted that he was “getting held together by tape”.

A strong pre-season already has him up and going again, however, and it’s clear he has cemented his status as one of the Swans’ midfield generals.

Rowbottom prepares to put the clamps on Harley Reid.

“He’s the number one tackle player in the competition,” John Longmire said. “He’s one of those guys that knows what he’s good at and does it consistently.

“He’s a key component of our midfield. He knows what his job is. He gets after the opposition and puts enormous heat on, which hopefully affects the opposition’s ball movement.”

After recently signing on for another four years at the club, Longmire clearly has faith in Rowbottom to lead the club’s exciting young core into the future.

Sydney’s midfield will always attract a lot of focus after their impressive run to the grand final in 2022, but they’re now searching for the level of consistency that comes with being one of the competition’s elite sides.

Nothing would sum up Rowbottom’s no-nonsense approach to his footy more than guiding them to a win over a resurgent Hawks side at the MCG, fresh off their first victory of the season.

Coach John Longmire and James Rowbottom at Swans training.

“As young as we are, we’re all pretty experienced now,” he said. “Errol (Gulden) is in our leadership group, I’m bringing up 100, Chad (Warner) has played a lot of footy … then (so have Lizard (Blakey) and Juzzy (McInerney).

“We don’t use (age) as an excuse now, we’ve all played enough footy to know what’s going on and how to go about each situation. But it’s very exciting to have that age demographic with the amount of footy we’ve played together.

“We focus on our scramble. Sometimes we can be really good and pressure around the ball, other times we start shifting forward before we win the pill. We’re focused on getting back to the scramble and once we’re there our game takes care of itself.

“(The) Hawks had a great win against North and their contested ball numbers and loose-ball gets stand out a lot. And their midfield group for me to look at especially is impressive.

“They’ve got a lot of big bodies around so we’re gonna have to be on our pressure game as well and be ready to go.”

Originally published as Sydney midfielder James Rowbottom set for 100th AFL game