Off-contract Gold Coast star Matt Rowell has earned the praise of his teammates and coaches in the wake of a dominant display against Melbourne on Saturday.
Rowell recorded 36 disposals, 13 clearances, seven tackles, 19 contested possessions, eight inside 50s and nine score involvements in a best-afield performance at the MCG.
The Suns bull was at the heart of a midfield battle that heavily swayed in favour of the Queensland club, with teammates Noah Anderson, Touk Miller and Bailey Humphrey also having their say.
Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick labelled the former No.1 pick "a very, very, very good player" after the 58-point win, noting further performances that will add to the club's undefeated start to the year will see the Suns "hold up our end of the bargain" amid Rowell's contract decision making.
"He's been incredible," Hardwick said of Rowell's opening two performances of 2025. "He's doing a lot of work with his game, with Shaun Grigg, but also off the field with some people to help him get better as well, which is really important.
"You look at this guy and what he means to our footy club, our fans love him, our coaches love him. He's just an incredible player. We're very, very fortunate to have him.
"We understand how important he is to us. We've got to make sure we hold up our end of the bargain. We've got to win games a footy, he's a winner. That's what he wants to be a part of.
"We've got some work to do in this space, we'll back ourselves in. He's had an incredible start to the season. He's a wonderful player. I'm very, very fortunate to have him. He's great to coach as well.
"He's a real student of the game, he understands, he listens and he always wants to grow. So we're very privileged to have those sort of players within our environment that take it on board and understand what the game looks and feels like.
"The fact of the matter is, he is a very, very, very good player. Very good."
Rowell is reported to have fetched interest from Victorian clubs keen to lure the Oakleigh Chargers product back to his home state.
A continued form trend will see the 23-year-old's price skyrocket in a contract year, with the Suns hoping a competitive campaign will make his decision an easy one.
Teammate Bodhi Uwland lauded Rowell's outing against the Demons, hoping the gun onballer can continue his bright start to the year and eventually re-sign for the long-term.
"You can see with how we're playing there's a culture and family that we're trying to build," Uwland told Zero Hanger.
"If we continue to perform on the field, I think it's going to increase his chances (of staying). Obviously he's got his own decision to make, but we'd love him to be here forever.
"As a defender, it's so much easier when every ball that's coming in is either scrappy or a quick kick. (Our midfielders) fought really hard in the midfield. I thought they were dominant, and especially 'Rowelly' at ground level, just being able to be clean with the ball and then burst away from stoppage.
"That was a real standout and it makes our job as defenders a lot easier."
Rowell enjoyed a career-best campaign in 2024, which was his third successive season of 22 or more games after an injury-hit start to his career.
Saturday's win over Melbourne was Rowell's 87th game for the Suns and 38th win, with Gold Coast looking to extend their winning run next week when they host Adelaide at Carrara on Saturday, April 5.
