Gold Coast Suns 2024: Matt Rowell ‘frustrated’ by pre-season loss but grateful for positive feedback from Damien Hardwick

Matt Rowell was disappointed at losing a pre-season match to the GWS but he is well aware that adjusting to Damien Hardwick’s complex system will take time.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 22: Matt Rowell of the Suns during an AFL practice match between Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns at Brighton Homes Arena on February 22, 2024 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

It may have only been a pre-season game but Gold Coast midfielder Matt Rowell took last week’s 44-point drubbing at the hands of Greater Western Sydney personally.

The 22-year-old was left “frustrated” and “disappointed” after the Suns were “beaten in our strengths around the ball” and admitted there were still areas of their game that needed tinkering ahead of Saturday’s Opening Round clash with Richmond.

A proud footballer who hates being beaten at his bread and butter, Rowell said he and the midfield group were eager to bounce back after an off day against the Giants.

“As a group we’re really good at it so we don’t like when we’re beaten there (at stoppage) and I played a part in that,” Rowell said.

“It’s never great being beaten in that phase of the game. But that’s footy. We have a game this week where we can rectify it.

Matt Rowell led the league in tackles in 2023. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

“I always want to make sure I’m doing my role for the team. If I don’t put my best foot forward then I’m letting down my teammates. That’s what drives me … that’s what irks me when I don’t play my role, is that it lets the team down.”

Rowell said new coach Damien Hardwick was quick to put things into perspective for his group, which is still learning the master coach’s complex system.

“Dimma is great at that – it was all positive (feedback). He sent out a few messages on the weekend too with some key messages he wanted us to implement.

“Maybe we went a bit too far with some of our fast ball movement, but there’s a lot of growth there that’s the main thing.”

“Like a lot of systems it’s one where you’re only going to get better at it the more reps you do. I think you’ll see us play better footy as the season goes on.

“We want to win games early. There’s no excuses with that. But with this new system it will take the boys some time getting adjusted to it.”

Last season Rowell reminded the footy world how good of a player he really is.

A competitive beast who in previous years was questioned for his lack of ‘easy’ touches, the narrative around the former No. 1 draft pick began to shift in 2023 when he began dominating at stoppage.

Rowell led the league in tackles and set a new season benchmark with 190 in 23 games. He also finished second in clearances, behind only Brownlow Medallist Lachie Neale.

Before Christmas Rowell revealed he had employed a sprint coach to add a new attacking layer to his game by bolstering his explosiveness and top-end speed.

The Suns are still adjusting to new coach Damien Hardwick’s system. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

But those around him have called on the midfield bull to simply keep doing what he is doing.

“That bloke has had media say a million different things about where he’s at and how he’s doing, but what it comes down to is he works bloody hard,” Suns skipper Touk Miller said of Rowell.

“I haven’t come across too many blokes who work as hard on their craft and are as detailed in what they want to get out of their career.

“For me, I feel like he gets scrutinised about what he can’t do, but what he can do is his strength inside the bubble is unbelievable.

“His ability to absorb a couple of tacklers and feed to blokes like myself on the outside … he was leading the tackle count by an obscene amount last year. It just shows his real want for the contest.

“What he does, his craft work in side, is really second-to-none.”

New midfield coach Shaun Grigg echoed the skipper’s sentiments. He said any added weapons to Rowell’s game would be a bonus, because what he already does so well was “bloody valuable for us”.

“He has that speed now, it’s about getting him in positions to use it,” Grigg said.

“(But) first and foremost he’s a contest player for us. The way he wins that hard ball and hunts the opposition is what he’s in the team to do.

“We can’t take that for granted as coaches. What he does is hard and it’s valuable for us.”

Originally published as Gold Coast Suns 2024: Matt Rowell ‘frustrated’ by pre-season loss but grateful for positive feedback from Damien Hardwick