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Live sport on SN this weekend“We’re confident”: Suns footy boss expecting Rowell to turn back on Victorian interest
Lachlan Geleit • March 5th, 2025 6:30 pm
Gold Coast football boss Wayne Campbell is confident that Matt Rowell will turn his back on Victorian interest and re-sign with the Suns.
As things stand, the 23-year-old comes out of contract at the end of the season, and reports revealed that the Sun met with Collingwood, Essendon, Geelong and the Western Bulldogs last off-season as he weighs up his future.
While the Melbourne-based clubs will hope Rowell wants to return home, the star midfielder himself responded, ‘Yes’, when asked whether he’d be playing for Gold Coast in 2026 when asked on Triple M.
Campbell hopes that response is a sign that talks between the player and club are heading in a positive direction as the footy boss reiterated the Suns’ desire to keep their man in the Sunshine State.
“I hope it’s definitely a yes,” Campbell told SEN Sportsday.
“I heard that, ‘Yes’, that you heard as well, and I would have thought that was reasonably positive.
“But players' public musings are one indication. The other is when they actually sign, that's the most extreme, and that's the one we're after.
“We love him, as you would imagine we would. He's one of the best players at what he does in the competition. He knows that we love him. Our job is to provide the best possible environment so that he wants to stay … but ultimately, it'll be up to Matt to decide what he wants to do.
“But there is no more invested player in what the Gold Coast Suns are doing at the moment than what Matt is.
“We’re confident … but we ultimately don’t know until he’s signed on the dotted line.”
While Campbell admits he’d rather the reports of Rowell meeting with rivals never got out, he didn’t blame the Magpies, Bombers, Bulldogs and Cats for putting their case forward to Rowell with a year remaining on his contract as the Suns have done that to rival players previously.
“We've done it. So, I won't say it's wrong for those four clubs to do it,” Campbell said.
“Good on them … but I think those clubs, and certainly we would prefer that it didn't get out.
“I reckon 80 per cent of the time when you meet with the player, it doesn't get out.
“The news today that he met with another club, it's sort of not news to us, that’s been around for a little while, so nothing really changes from our end.”
Rowell and the Suns now begin their 2025 campaign with a Round 1 clash against West Coast at Optus Stadium on March 16.
