Wild footage has emerged of AFL star Matt Rowell’s latest bizarre pre-game ritual involving sniffing footballs in the changeroom.
Rowell, last year’s Brownlow Medal winner, has become renowned for his pre-game routines over the years — notably crouching barefoot on the turf, eating the grass from the field and jotting down notes in a journal.
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But he took it up a notch in the changeroom before Gold Coast’s clash with the Brisbane Lions on Saturday.
Footage aired on Kayo Sports show Bounce showed Rowell bending down on all fours and sniffing 13 yellow Sherrins placed in a line against the wall.
“He decides, ‘I’m going to sniff all the match footballs. I’m going to sniff them all! To find out which one’s my favourite’,” host Jason Dunstall said.
Andrew Gaze quipped: “It’s like a labrador that just knows how to find the right scent.”
“I know what his career after footy could be, he could be at the airport,” Ben Dixon said.
Earlier this year Rowell was spotted sitting on a Sherrin while barefoot before a game and explained the ritual was aimed at becoming “one with the ground”.
“It’s just something I do before every game,” he said.
“It’s kind of like a grounding process. Get a feel for the ground, smell, touch — all the senses, really.
“I do visualisation as well, just to become one with the ground. I always go barefoot.”
Rowell does spend plenty of time on the turf in games as a contested player, racking up 16 tackles and 40 disposals in last week’s two-point win over GWS.
But Gold Coast lost the Q Clash to the Lions by 42 points, continuing a torrid season for the Suns, who had high hopes of making the top four after claiming their first finals win last year and recruiting Christian Petracca in the off-season.
Playing in the forward line, Petracca had no influence on Saturday at the Gabba, accumulating only 12 possessions following disposal tallies of 14 and 16 in his previous two games.
“He’s had a bit of a downturn in form,” Suns coach Damien Hardwick said of Petracca.
“I’ve got to find how I can best use him, and that’s up to me to figure it out.
“We’ve had some really good conversations, and he will do whatever I want for the benefit of the team. That’s a great thing about Christian.
“I’ve got to get better at utilising him to his absolute strength. I haven’t found that right lever yet.
“We had it at the start of the year. It’s probably drifted off a little bit, so we’ll work on that.
The Suns are 14th on the ladder with eight wins, falling out of contention for the AFL’s first ever wildcard round for teams ranked seventh to 10th on the ladder.
The top 10 teams are locked in with Collingwood guaranteed to finish in eighth place after a draw against Hawthorn, while Carlton will play in the wildcard round after the draw against the Bulldogs.
– With NewsWire