Young Suns recruit Matt Rowell hits ground running against Eagles
Gold Coast recruit Matt Rowell has hit the ground running in his debut year of senior football.
Not long after Chris Judd dominated his only WAFL match for East Perth in 2002, his coach Tony Micale issued some advice to his teammates.
Micale told the squad at a post-match function to take a good look at Judd that night, because they would “never see him again” wearing the Royals guernsey, given his talent.
So it proved, with the champion midfielder claiming two Brownlow Medals, a couple of AFLPA MVP awards and also the honour of leading West Coast to a flag during a decorated career.
Gold Coast recruit Matt Rowell may have one up on Judd in that, should his fitness hold, it is unlikely he will be seen in anything but senior action throughout his career.
After a promising debut in March, Rowell was simply outstanding on Saturday night against West Coast in a performance that drew plaudits across the competition.
A second-term goal, in which Rowell sprinted into attack after a boundary throw-in and kicked accurately under pressure, was impressive at an important time at Metricon Stadium.
The 19-year-old finished with two goals from 26 possessions and was clearly best afield in a stunning effort from a footballer playing just his second game pitted against a quality midfield.
Rowell used the ball particularly well — his disposal efficiency was rated at 80 per cent — which helped open up the game for the Suns in their 44-point upset of the Eagles.
The dominance of his effort prompted Geelong captain Joel Selwood, who had played a starring role of his own 24 hours earlier, to make public his thoughts on the emerging talent. “Going to enjoy watching Rowell for the next 15 years,” Selwood wrote.
The performance did not surprise the AFL’s talent manager, Kevin Sheehan, who noted Rowell had been compared to Selwood during his junior career, just as the Cat had been likened to Brisbane champion Michael Voss when starring from debut in 2007.
Selwood was one of four brothers to play at the elite level and Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew raised an interesting point about Rowell and his close mate Noah Anderson, who also performed well against West Coast.
The pair, selected with the opening two picks in last November’s draft, are great mates and have played and trained together for years. This continued through the season suspension, with the pair returning to Melbourne and pairing up for training sessions. According to Dew, it has helped their development.
“Matt and Noah get lumped together by their draft number, but also the closeness of their friendship, but I think the important piece that the public will get to know over a period of time is it is not by luck or chance that they are as good as they are,” Dew told The Sunday Footy Show.
“I haven’t seen many players come in and love footy as outwardly as these guys. They always have a ball in hand and are pushing each other.
“When you see siblings be successful because they have grown up pushing each other to be better, clearly these guys have spent a lot of time together and they have reaped the benefits of that,” Dew said.
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