The Gold Coast and Essendon played an exciting draw on Wednesday, but all anyone wanted to talk about was injured Suns newbie Matt Rowell.
The # 1 2019 draft pick had the league on fire earlier in the season, but he was sidelined in round five when he dislocated his shoulder against Geelong before being disfellowshipped for 12 weeks.
Watch Footy LIVE & On-Demand every day from July 29th to August 17th with Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial and start streaming immediately>
Though Rowell had spent the night with coach Stuart Dew, he was sending social media into full swing ahead of the game when he was portrayed with a wistful grin writing in a notebook.
It’s the stuff memes are made of and the internet obliges. But speaking to AFL.com.au, Rowell actually trolled his teammate in the moment immortalized online.
“It was actually a bit funny because it was during the warm-up and I was with Noah (No. 2 draft pick Anderson) and he was putting up ground balls,” he said.
“It was a bit funny, I started counting how much fiddling he did while warming up. So it was a bit of fun. “
AFL Live Scores: 12th round game centers
Rowell admitted there were only two fiddles, “so he did pretty well”.
“I like to push him so I can hold him accountable so have some fun,” he said.
Rowell and Anderson are a great AFL story who, after growing up together, got one and two on the draft, won premierships on the same page, and then both were drafted by the suns.
The 19-year-old added that he was enjoying becoming a meme.
“It spread a bit, it was a bit of fun, I watched it and had a good laugh, so it’s pretty fun,” he said.
To freshen up, here are some of the best.
Rowell, with his coaching role on the injury list, said he likes to keep track of things during the game and keep midfield accountable in his notebook.
He added that he enjoyed working closely with Dew.
“I love working with him,” said Rowell. “His mind is really good talking about Footy, and I love learning from him. It’s really good to sit on the bench and see what the other coaches are talking about and I just record it. It’s really cool to be by your side. “
.
