Matt Rowell Biography

Noah Anderson claims his first best and fairest for Gold Coast, with Sam Collins finishing second and Matt Rowell third.

Matt Rowell signs a new two-year deal with Gold Coast, committing him to the club until at least the end of 2025.

"I've come in at the end of 2019 and put a lot of hard work in, the group has put a lot of hard work in, and I've signed the contract because I know we've gone through a lot of that tough bit and now we're seeing some improvement," Rowell said.

"Hopefully there's going to be some success now. I'm really excited with where this group can go."

Matt Rowell is set to make his long-awaited return this week when the Suns take on Fremantle.

"He's highly energised and put in a great block of work, as we knew he would," Gold Coast football manager Jon Haines said.

"His enthusiasm and his want to play, and his love of the game, is infectious. The guys love having him back in the group."

Matt Rowell is likely to miss half the season after scans confirmed damage to the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Rowell was taken off in the opening term of Sunday's 25-point loss to West Coast after falling awkwardly in a tackle. He will be in a brace for six weeks and then be re-evaluated.

"We expect him to be playing in the back half of the year. All things being equal it's a reasonable outcome," Gold Coast football manager Jon Haines said.

Matt Rowell suffers a knee injury after a heavy tackle from Zac Langdon in the first quarter of the Suns' 2021 season opener against West Coast.

"It’s a knee injury and it’ll keep him out for some time. We don’t think it is season-ending at this stage," Suns coach Stuart Dew said after the match.

"We’re shattered for the lad. We want to see the best players playing and he’s one of our best. He has done so much work. To see him go down and have to put a brave face on again, your heart goes out to him. We’ll wrap our arms around him, reload and go again."

Gold Coast football manager Jon Haines says the club will take a cautious approach when it comes to managing Matt Rowell's return from injury.

"He's so diligent and so driven and such a sponge when it comes to taking in information," Haines said.

"It's a case of educating him, how to channel that energy and level of drive into a 15-year career. We want him right for round one next year, but we want him ready for the next 10 or 15 years as well."

Matt Rowell explains his regular gameday habit of tucking in his jumper.

"I think it was when I was really little, I started doing it and one of the coaches said, 'That's a good idea. You won't be able to get tackled as easily now'," Rowell said.

"It was a bit of that, plus I really liked the look as well. It's just old-school, get down to business and get going."

Matt Rowell signs a two-year contract extension with the Suns to remain at the club until the end of 2023.

"The young group we've got, I can see if we keep improving and working hard, we can have some good success here," Rowell said.

"We're all dedicated and all the people at the club are dedicated to get success, that's the main thing."

Matt Rowell is set for shoulder surgery in the coming week and is set to miss at least three months.

"This is the first real injury that Matt's had in his whole career so it was a new experience for him," Gold Coast football operations boss Jon Haines said.

"Ultimately it was a decision that Matt had to make so we had to make sure that we laid all the evidence and all the research and all the information out for him and his family to consider and for them to make an informed opinion."

Matt Rowell will undergo scans to determine the extent of a shoulder dislocation suffered against Geelong.

Cat Gary Ablett, who endured serious shoulder injuries in the latter stages of his career at Gold Coast before returning to the Cats, said he spoke to the Rowell after Geelong's 37-point win.

"I said to him once he gets the results if he wants to give me a call and talk through things I can let him know what worked for me and what didn't," Ablett said.

Matt Rowell is the 2020 round 2 AFL Rising Star nominee after tallying 26 disposals and 2 goals against West Coast.

"I'll say it, I think I'll get sick of saying it, but we love that we've got him. He just loves footy. He'll eat up anything that you give him in terms of footy," Suns coach Stuart Dew said of Rowell.

"He just wants to impact the game for the team. We all love that he's so humble. The work he puts in is pretty special."

Matt Rowell makes his AFL debut for Gold Coast with 19 disposals (6 kicks and 13 handballs), a mark and 4 tackles in a 47-point loss to Port Adelaide.

Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson's transition from Melbourne to Gold Coast has been made easier, with the top two picks from last year's NAB AFL Draft moving in to Suns chief executive Mark Evans' house.

"We're both staying together at Mark Evans' place, so we're not complaining there, it's a nice place and a good spot," Rowell said.

"Mark and his wife Lynne are great people and they're very easygoing, and if we need anything they're there so they're really good like that. We have good chats with them over the dinner table."

As part of an assistance package, the AFL hands Gold Coast the top pick in the 2019 AFL Draft in addition to the next best pick at No.2 already in their possession.

This has pleased prospective first selection Matt Rowell who likely be selected with his best mate and the clear second selection Noah Anderson by the Suns.

Given the club's past retention issues, pairing the two long-time friends and gun footballers could reinvigorate the struggling side as it aims to finally move up the ladder.

"Going up with a mate would make it easier," Rowell said.

"If I was to move interstate, it would be a bit harder because all of my family and stuff are back home. But I'm sure going up with a mate would make the transition easier."

Likely No.1 pick Matt Rowell admits he has started to track the lower end of the ladder as he gets his head around which club he could land at in November's NAB AFL Draft.

The Vic Metro midfielder averaged 25 disposals and five clearances in the NAB AFL Under-18 championships and is expected to be named an All Australian later this week.

"I watch the ladder a bit. It's hard not to. But there's still a lot of footy to be played and I don't know where I'm going, so you can't look into it too much," Rowell said.

"The thoughts do go through your head, but my focus now is the back end of this season and playing to my capabilities. That gives me the best chance to get picked up and it's all I can control."