Player Watch #8 James Rowbottom

[Kennedy Parker]

James Rowbottom

The Sydney Swans recruited James Rowbottom

8

James Rowbottom

Age

24

Ht

186cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.0

4star

K

8.1

3star

HB

5.9

4star

M

2.2

2star

T

4.3

5star

CL

2.0

4star

D

14.6

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

5.6

3star

M

1.5

2star

T

3.4

4star

CL

2.5

4star

D

14.4

4star

K

7.8

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

3.0

3star

T

3.6

5star

CL

1.2

4star

with their second selection at the 2018 AFL Draft and the midfield bull impacted from the get-go. The Oakleigh Chargers product made his AFL debut against Richmond at Marvel Stadium in Round 5, 2019 and finished the season with 12 senior games beside his name. Rowbottom also led the NEAFL MVP voting when it was hidden from the public after Round 12. The young Swan is a ball magnet, explosive at the stoppages, an outstanding tackler and a clean user of the footy.

James Rowbottom

8

James Rowbottom

Age

24

Ht

186cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.0

4star

K

8.1

3star

HB

5.9

4star

M

2.2

2star

T

4.3

5star

CL

2.0

4star

D

14.6

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

5.6

3star

M

1.5

2star

T

3.4

4star

CL

2.5

4star

D

14.4

4star

K

7.8

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

3.0

3star

T

3.6

5star

CL

1.2

4star

DOB: 19 September 2000
DEBUT: 2019
DRAFT: #25, 2018 National Draft
RECRUITED FROM: Camberwell (Vic)/St Kevin's College (Vic)/Oakleigh U18

James Rowbottom | AFL

Follow James Rowbottom's progress through AFL

www.sydneyswans.com.au

 

[Kirkswan]

Interesting because various players have had really good patches but no single player has dominated the whole season. Think on these:
Early Mills and Heeney
Mid Season the Chad and Mills
Later more Chad, Papley and Rowy
Consistent others Hayward, McCartins, Florent, Blakey.
Reckon that's pretty close to the Skilton top 10. My top 2 would be Mills and Chad.

You seriously don't have Parker in your top 10?
He's Mr Consistency...

I absolutely believe he'll be top 3 again!

Rowbottom will be top 5 I think

 

[Kiama Chris]

You seriously don't have Parker in your top 10?
He's Mr Consistency...

I absolutely believe he'll be top 3 again!

Rowbottom will be top 5 I think

Oops! Mea culpa. Definitely top 3. Brain fade.

 

[Kiama Chris]

can't disagree ... but hickey?

Not consistent enough over enough games. Fitness. Missed games.

 

[the hypnotoad]

Not consistent enough over enough games. Fitness. Missed games.

maybe not, but he's still a heartbeat of this team ... or maybe he's the soulbeat ... sounds more rock n roll

 

[Kiama Chris]

maybe not, but he's still a heartbeat of this team ... or maybe he's the soulbeat ... sounds more rock n roll

Couldn't agree more. He has a huge impact on the kids. Worth a lot more than his stats.

 

[rustycrate]

Oops! Mea culpa. Definitely top 3. Brain fade.

Excused. After this weeks game how can you fit 22 into 10?

 

[Kiama Chris]

Excused. After this weeks game how can you fit 22 into 10?

Truth

 

[Kiama Chris]

Excused. After this weeks game how can you fit 22 into 10?

How do you decide who are the bottom 6?
There are players who don't get lots of points but play cracker games. Is Clarke bottom 6 who wipes out AA attacking defenders?
I think your point is that we don't have a bottom 6. All 22 are contributing (as Horse says) to their best on the day.

 

[Ticky009]

The hands of fate

 

[GoTheSwannies]

The hands of fate

View attachment 1507254

Great sliding doors moment

 

[Maximumlnsanity]

The hands of fate

View attachment 1507254

Wait rly? I'm a bit skeptical of that being true

 

[Ed_Gein]

Had a massive game tonight. Massive!

 

[Superstar swan]

Has become a sensational player

 

[CheapCharlie]

Rowbottom stood up all night when it counted. Terrific back half of the year. Never understood some of the negativity that came his way

 

[Borgan]

Paddlebum easily one of our best, there’s rarely gonna be someone that scraps harder and wins so many important contested balls

 

[caesar88]

Love this

 

[caesar88]

Happy 22nd birthday to Rowbottom!

 

[hairy biker]

Happy 22nd birthday to Rowbottom!

Don't try to be nice to him.

We all know you wanted to trade him earlier in the season.

 

[caesar88]

Don't try to be nice to him.

We all know you wanted to trade him earlier in the season.

I think I explained the rationale behind that enough.

 

[hairy biker]

I think I explained the rationale behind that enough.

Or you could man up and admit you were wrong.

 

[SSwans2011]

It was only a couple of months ago, we were talking about Warner potentially being a top 10 midfielder within the next few seasons. Is it too soon to say Rowbottom has the same ceiling?

 

[wills2g]

Crazy good player. I think he's really balanced his defensive and offensive game these past 2 months. Goal scored in each of the last 4 matches, right when we need them too.

 

[Membling]

It was only a couple of months ago, we were talking about Warner potentially being a top 10 midfielder within the next few seasons. Is it too soon to say Rowbottom has the same ceiling?

Hopefully.

See him more of the unsung hero who does a huge amount of heavy lifting and elevates players around him

 

[caesar88]

Or you could man up and admit you were wrong.

I wasn't wrong though. If anything his last few months have completely validated every thing I said about him. While everyone else was content with him being a role player, I was copping it for thinking he could be more than that and expressing it.

He's just playing his role, he's suited to being a defensive mid, Horse knows what he's doing, etc etc. was all I heard.

Very few people bit when I'd suggest using Rowbottom differently to improve our clearances, or to improve our contested ball work.

So he stayed in that role, and he was a bottom 4-6 player. People were saying he should be dropped. This was not a player who is going to be considered a valuable asset in a few years time when we're shuffling the salary cap around and he's attracting offers from other clubs who are always on the hunt for inside mids. It's also not a player who is going to last in the midfield.

The most obvious example was the exact player whose trajectory Rowbottom's was following: Hewett, who was first squeezed out of the midfield, then squeezed out of the salary cap.

I maintain that we can not - with any player, whether it's Rowbottom, Adam or Eve - squander a player's potential all the way to their mid-20s and then let them walk out in their primes and fulfil their potential at other clubs like we did with Hewett. If we're gonna do that with a player, I'd rather just trade them while they're young and have some worth on the market.

Maybe it was harsh and an unpopular opinion and it's jarring to hear "insert 21 year old" and "trade bait" in the same sentence, but I completely stand by it.

He is now a top 4-6 player in a grand final side, and has become so key that I suspect he'll be one of the select group we'll be moving heaven and Earth to ensure he's a Swan for life. He's helped us secure a grand final berth, and he's helped secure a future standing in the team and at the club.

Won't apologise for A) wanting us to get the best out of a player, B) wanting what's best for that player, and C) wanting the team to improve through that player.

 

[hairy biker]

Rowbottom
first game of the season;
18 disp ( 13 contested), 7 clearances, 10 tackles.
PF;
18 disp ( 13 contested), 6 clearances, 10 tackles

You were seeing something that didn't exist.
Of course at times he played a more defensive role, just as Mills & Parker have done in recent games.

You were so obsessed by the loss of Hewett that you were projecting Rowbottom onto him

Rowbottom has got more of the ball as the season has progressed because he was still learning at 21 yo.

To suggest that we should look to trade him because he might go the way of Hewett was nonsense.