But he took it up a notch in the changeroom before Gold Coast\u2019s clash with the Brisbane Lions on Saturday. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe decides, \u2018I\u2019m going to sniff all the match footballs. I\u2019m going to sniff them all! To find out which one\u2019s my favourite\u2019,\u201d host Jason Dunstall said.<\/p>\n
Andrew Gaze quipped: \u201cIt\u2019s like a labrador that just knows how to find the right scent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what his career after footy could be, he could be at the airport,\u201d Ben Dixon said.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year Rowell was spotted sitting on a Sherrin while barefoot before a game and explained the ritual was aimed at becoming \u201cone with the ground\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just something I do before every game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of like a grounding process. Get a feel for the ground, smell, touch \u2014 all the senses, really. <\/p>\n
\u201cI do visualisation as well, just to become one with the ground. I always go barefoot.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s two-point win over GWS.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s had a bit of a downturn in form,\u201d Suns coach Damien Hardwick said of Petracca.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got to find how I can best use him, and that\u2019s up to me to figure it out.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had some really good conversations, and he will do whatever I want for the benefit of the team. That\u2019s a great thing about Christian.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got to get better at utilising him to his absolute strength. I haven\u2019t found that right lever yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had it at the start of the year. It\u2019s probably drifted off a little bit, so we\u2019ll work on that.<\/p>\n
The Suns are 14th on the ladder with eight wins, falling out of contention for the AFL\u2019s first ever wildcard round for teams ranked seventh to 10th on the ladder.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
– With NewsWire<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wild footage has emerged of AFL star Matt Rowell\u2019s latest bizarre pre-game ritual involving sniffing footballs in 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