Player Watch #8 James Rowbottom

[Kennedy Parker]

James Rowbottom

The Sydney Swans recruited James Rowbottom

8

James Rowbottom

Age

25

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

25

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

 

[The King!]

I just don’t know anymore.

9 disposals last night, playing permanently in the midfield.

Good first half defensively especially.

Isn’t on I feel will hold up on onslaught rightly or wrongly

 

[Kbroome]

The problem at the moment and I hate to write it like this but Rowbottom and Sheldrick don't seem to work together.

Personally two of my favourite players in the team but they just clog up the midfield a little

 

[Bloods86]

Good first half defensively especially.

Isn’t on I feel will hold up on onslaught rightly or wrongly

Rowy was one of our better players in the GF. He did his usual thing last night. Seems odd that he would get picked up on, though I guess if the "stars" don't fire and things go badly, we go back to familiar critiques.

 

[The King!]

Rowy was one of our better players in the GF. He did his usual thing last night. Seems odd that he would get picked up on, though I guess if the "stars" don't fire and things go badly, we go back to familiar critiques.

I didn’t think he was a problem , I think when it’s going to complete shit his light frame becomes more noticeable and if anything it’s because he is trying to stop momentum and wrestle this big bodied mids and just physically can’t at times.

 

[hairy biker]

He did his usual thing last night. Seems odd that he would get picked up on, though I guess if the "stars" don't fire and things go badly, we go back to familiar critiques.

He certainly did.

9 disposals for the game.
Excl the injured players only Campbell & Melican had fewer.
Disposal efficiency of 55%, one score involvement, woeful metres gained stat (for example a grand total of 9 more than Francis).

16 CBAs, 2 centre clearances.
And before anyone says it no he was not tagging/running with Green.

'We go back to familiar critiques' because Rowbottom deserves to be pulled up.
He's played 136 AFL games and over his career, playing primarily as a midfielder, he's averaged 17 disposals.

He's a good open field tackler, stick him up fwd as a pressure player.

 

[Punts]

His endeavour is 2nd to none but he is an average player with not many strings to his bow.

Should have pressure on his spot imo

 

[The King!]

No one is putting pressure on his spot. Not saying he isn't average, you need some average guys , but he is out working most, and no one close to pushing him out .

Been down on last year by a fair way imo

 

[MF]

Is mills so valuable in defence that we couldn't drop Rowbottom and slot him into the middle?

 

[hairy biker]

Is mills so valuable in defence that we couldn't drop Rowbottom and slot him into the middle?

I'd give Cleary and Sheldrick an extended run in the middle and as I say above shift Rowbottom fwd.
Time to try things.

 

[Nuggetz]

I think his role gets muddied when Jordon plays in the midfield then you add in the likes of Sheldrick too. He's a defensive mid but can he & Jordon co-exist in the same midfield effectively?

 

[MF]

I'd give Cleary and Sheldrick an extended run in the middle and as I say above shift Rowbottom fwd.
Time to try things.

Sheldrick is already getting enough time in the middle at this stage. I'd love to see Cleary get a good run though. He's shown he has the defensive string to his bow but also looks like he'll have that evasiveness and class with the ball too.

I'm not sure why we're not doing more to fast track him. He's the only player in our VFL side that I'm confident will be a 200 gamer

 

[Bloods86]

He certainly did.

9 disposals for the game.
Excl the injured players only Campbell & Melican had fewer.
Disposal efficiency of 55%, one score involvement, woeful metres gained stat (for example a grand total of 9 more than Francis).

16 CBAs, 2 centre clearances.
And before anyone says it no he was not tagging/running with Green.

'We go back to familiar critiques' because Rowbottom deserves to be pulled up.
He's played 136 AFL games and over his career, playing primarily as a midfielder, he's averaged 17 disposals.

He's a good open field tackler, stick him up fwd as a pressure player.

Rowy has been down this year, hasn't looked as frenetic at times, but I also don't know why I have to care that he's averaged 17 disposals.

If higher disposal counts were the only way to have a positive impact or there was only one midfield role, then there would be a point here.

 

[ashep]

I stick by my assertion that he would be among the first names on the team sheet and that every player on the list would be happy running out alongside him.

Never fails to do the tough stuff, puts his head over it, and is a vocal leader on the field.

If his career ends up Jude-lite (averaged a tick under 18 disposals for his career and 2.5 less tackles than Rowy at the same age) there is absolutely no shame in that.

 

[RedBloodBlackSwan]

If you are going to be a one dimensional player, you need to be elite at what you do.

In some ways Rowbottom is an elite tackler, but is he an elite stopper? Given the regular runs we get against us in the midfield, I suspect the answer is no.

You would have to think that a fit Mills is an upgrade.

I think the opportunity for Rowy is finding additional strings to his bow. If he can become Jude-lite and play well as a forward who can run through the middle, you’d take that.

 

[McRobie]

Rowbottom tries his guts out but the reality is he’s a c grader. Has very little impact offensively, uses it horribly.
Hes taking up an important role in our CBAs and when you mix with Jordan, Sheldrick, Adams etc it’s a really dour non competitive and ineffective set up.

 

[Nool Carpenna]

If you are going to be a one dimensional player, you need to be elite at what you do.

In some ways Rowbottom is an elite tackler, but is he an elite stopper? Given the regular runs we get against us in the midfield, I suspect the answer is no.

You would have to think that a fit Mills is an upgrade.

I think the opportunity for Rowy is finding additional strings to his bow. If he can become Jude-lite and play well as a forward who can run through the middle, you’d take that.

Thing is, he was very good at extracting when he first arrived here. Getting his hands on it and carrying it away from the stoppage where he found space to put it to better use than he does now. It was his primary attribute, and the reason he was elevated and given time in the middle as an 18yo.... not as the one-dimensional tackling machine the coaches have turned him into.

If he's approaching stoppages with a mindset of making sure nobody's bursting thru the middle of it, it's little wonder really that he isn't securing any more than 20 possies a game and, sadly, we don't have anybody to complement that with regular games of 30+.

If he approached every stoppage primarily concerned with getting his hands on it to win the clearance, he might drop a couple of tackles (which likely still leaves him in the top 20 in the comp) but he might get 5-10 more possessions and a couple of extra clearances and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Said it very early this year, give him a few weeks in the twos and let him re-discover that skill 'cos currently it's sitting in his toolbox, unused.

He is a remarkably consistent player and I just think that it is more to do with his approach to the game and/or his commitment to the instructions given, than his actual skillset, that sees him plateauing at a level he's been at for 3-4 years.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Rowbottom tries his guts out but the reality is he’s a c grader. Has very little impact offensively, uses it horribly.
Hes taking up an important role in our CBAs and when you mix with Jordan, Sheldrick, Adams etc it’s a really dour non competitive and ineffective set up.

Nowadays if you can't find the pill get out of the midfield, and its as simple as that. I'd be playing him forward as a tackler, that's his very good trait. Time to see Cleary as a genuine midfielder for the rest of this season. Sheldrick has goot the same amount of ball and is basically his first year of consistent games and that says it all there.

 

[Dubai Quacker]

I think the question is WHY is he only getting 9 disposals?

I don’t know the answer.

He hasn’t suddenly become a bad player - there has to be a reason.

 

[Dan87]

If we have one guy known for doing the tough stuff does it let others off the hook? What's it saying to the playing group? Some of you are only good enough to chase, some of you are good enough to try and get the ball and win.

Should be a shared responsibility to an extent

 

[Dubai Quacker]

No centre bounces.

Not much midfield time.

Strange days we live in.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

No centre bounces.

Not much midfield time.

Strange days we live in.

Happy that was the case our mids looked a heaps better mix

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Happy that was the case our mids looked a heaps better mix

Don’t really agree.

But if Cox doesn’t see Rowy in the mids ….. does he value him?

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Don’t really agree.

But if Cox doesn’t see Rowy in the mids ….. does he value him?

I don’t hate the idea using him up forward where he can tackle.

 

[ashep]

Rewatched the first half and the complaints about lack of forward pressure don't really stack up.

Playing in a new position he still managed to top the tackle count, 17 pressure acts, a handful of marks and 3 scoring shots.

Compare that to Wicks running around in very fast circles nowhere near the opposition last season and being praised for his "elite pressure" and I'm not quite sure if some know what they're watching.

Now that's not to say that it's a better spot for him than in the mids, but I would say the experiment is absolutely worth continuing.

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Rewatched the first half and the complaints about lack of forward pressure don't really stack up.

Playing in a new position he still managed to top the tackle count, 17 pressure acts, a handful of marks and 3 scoring shots.

Compare that to Wicks running around in very fast circles nowhere near the opposition last season and being praised for his "elite pressure" and I'm not quite sure if some know what they're watching.

Now that's not to say that it's a better spot for him than in the mids, but I would say the experiment is absolutely worth continuing.

It’s definitely an experiment. And now’s the time to be experimenting, so fair play to Cox.

Interesting to see how it plays out - but I’m far from convinced Rowy is a forward.