EVERYONE wants to ask the question Matt Rowell is not yet ready to answer.
Right now, the out-of-contract star is focused on winning consistently at Gold Coast after years of false dawns. Winning, as Damien Hardwick pointed out in his post-game press conference on Saturday, will be the key to keeping the former No.1 pick at the Suns.
The 23-year-old is understood to have met with Victorian clubs last off-season, including Geelong, Collingwood, Essendon and the Western Bulldogs – who all want to lure him back to his home state – in order to make an informed decision on his future.
Gold Coast doesn't expect a decision in the near future, but the Suns are confident they are building the right environment for sustained success under the three-time premiership coach, and are growing in confidence that Rowell will re-sign.
In his only scheduled appearance at the MCG for 2025 – unless Gold Coast returns in September – Rowell produced one of the most dominant performances of his career, amassing a career-high 36 disposals, 19 contested possessions, 13 clearances (including a staggering nine from centre bounce) nine score involvements and seven tackles.
Rowell won a lot as a junior. Premierships with the Oakleigh Chargers in the Talent League and Carey Grammar in the Associated Public Schools (APS) competition, alongside long-term schoolmate and teammate Noah Anderson, who is now Gold Coast's captain. He wants success, which is why he isn't worried about waiting to see how the Suns progress this year before making a decision on his future.
"At the moment, I'm just happy playing footy and that decision will just come," Rowell told AFL.com.au after the 58-point win over Melbourne on Saturday.
"I'm just focused on winning games of footy and playing.
"To be honest, I don't worry about [contract speculation] too much. I love my footy, I love playing footy. Every week I look forward to training, getting out there and playing. For me, I'm just loving playing footy, playing with this group and getting wins."
Rowell is evolving before our eyes. The inside bull is winning more contested possessions than ever before – he's No.2 in the AFL this year behind only Jack Macrae – but the split between uncontested and contested has narrowed from 64 per cent in 2023 to 52 per cent in 2025. His score involvements have also spiked from 5.1 two years ago to 5.9 last year and now 8.0 to start this season. More ball, more damage.
The 180cm midfielder is the No.1 player in the AFL after four rounds, according to Champion Data's player ratings, averaging a massive 23.0 points to start 2025. Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli led this metric in 2024 with 19.1 rating points, ahead of Brownlow Medal winner Patrick Cripps on 18.3.
They're numbers that put him in an elite bracket of players; on Monday, Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd told AFL.com.au's Access that Rowell could surpass the likes of Patrick Cripps and Christian Petracca as the best inside midfielder in the competition by the end of the season.
Rowell has been renowned for his fastidious preparation since his school days, where he played his first game of First XVIII football in Year 9. He spent the off-season and much of the pre-season working on his speed and footwork with Brett Robinson, the athletic performance coach who won multiple world and national beach sprinting titles, as well as finishing runner-up in the Stawell Gift.
"I have made that a real focus to go from first possession to try and get involved in second possession," Rowell said.
"I've always focused on evolving my game, working on my game. I've got lots of confidence in my body at the moment. I feel good.
"I'm a bit lighter, so I feel like I can cover the ground a bit better, but at the same time I feel strong. I put a fair bit of effort into my preparation, so I feel good out there."
Hardwick has always used themes in his coaching. Hillary Step, the final challenge for climbers reaching the summit of Mt Everest, was used ahead of Richmond's drought-breaking premiership in 2017. Even when he coached Victoria in the Bushfire Appeal game in 2020, Hardwick organised for Big V greats to write letters to each of the 27 players that night. Storytelling matters to Hardwick.
Right now, the three-time premiership coach is leaning into the 'Bad Boys' era of the Detroit Pistons, where the hard-nosed franchise from the working class city played with a working class attitude to upstage the more fancied Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls, during a time where Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan dominated the NBA. They were defensively focused, ruthless and, most importantly, successful playing that way.
Gold Coast players were presented with Detroit Pistons t-shirts on Saturday – like they were ahead of the round one win against West Coast in Perth – while 'tap tap' was the theme of the trip to Melbourne, where the Suns ended a 12-game losing streak against the Demons dating back to 2014.
"We talked about Detroit a lot," Rowell said. "Back in the 80s, when they really wanted to raise the intensity they would say 'tap tap'. We used that if we felt Melbourne's pressure was rising or we needed a lift; we would say that and the group would respond."
Rowell knows Gold Coast needs to maintain this standard to keep building trust after flirting with excellence in the past. The Suns have never had a winning season and have seldom been in September contention after the mid-season bye. But things feel different now.
"Externally we don't worry about the noise too much. It is just about building trust internally, with ourselves," he said.
"Winning away from home gives great belief to the group. Every win away from home is special. We have really enjoyed these first two wins. It is great we have been able to have two wins from two to start the year – and they have both been away from home."
Gold Coast has now won four consecutive games away from home, after ending a 16-game losing streak on the road last August. They have dealt with a disjointed start to the season with ease. But Rowell knows bigger challenges are coming, starting this Saturday with the undefeated Adelaide travelling to People First Stadium.
"We are very happy with our start, but we also know it's a long year," he said. "We've just got to stick to (the idea that) every game is a new game, no one cares what you did last week. We've got to take it game by game. It's a good start, it's given us a lot of confidence, but it is a long year."
It could be a long year of focus on Rowell, not that it's affecting his form. After polling 25 votes in last year's Brownlow Medal to finish equal eighth, Rowell should have five or six to his name already.
Sitting back deep inside a venue Hardwick has coached at more than every other venue combined, the 52-year-old said Gold Coast must prove they have improved this year and are establishing themselves as a contender if they want to keep the in-demand midfield bull beyond October.
"We understand how important he is to us. We have to make sure we hold up our end of the bargain, make sure we win games of footy," Hardwick said on Saturday.
"He is a winner – that's what he wants to be a part of – so we've got some work to do. We know that. We'll back ourselves in, but he has had an incredible start to the season. He is a wonderful player."
Gold Coast has improved the retention issues that plagued them under Guy McKenna, Rodney Eade and Stuart Dew. Anderson, Ben King, Touk Miller and Sam Collins have all turned their backs on opportunities to return to Victoria.
Will Rowell be the next star to sign on the dotted line?
