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

 

[giantsully]

I realise Rowbottom is a favourite around here, but he really annoyed me tonight.

So FWIW I'll put on the record what I wrote in the autopsy thread;

Rowbottom bloody awful.

He has a shocking habit of making it someone else's problem.
1 metre handpasses to a stationary target,otherwise get it, kick it, without looking.

206 metres gained from 22 disposals, 2 centre clearances, when he was essentially an ever present in the middle.
(23 CBAs, compared to Chad's 14. Heeney and Jordon 24 apiece).

And even with the 1 metre handballs he had the worst disposal efficiency of anyone on our side.
His main opponent in Long, 29 disposals, 6 centre clearances (most on ground) and over 500 metres gained.

Yay 10 tackles.

Jordon was handy again tonight but he and Rowbottom in the centre bounce together doesn't work well enough for it to nearly be a permanent fixture and at present I'd take JJ over Rowbottom.

I realise Rowbottom is a favourite around here, but he really annoyed me tonight.

So FWIW I'll put on the record what I wrote in the autopsy thread;

Rowbottom bloody awful.

He has a shocking habit of making it someone else's problem.
1 metre handpasses to a stationary target,otherwise get it, kick it, without looking.

206 metres gained from 22 disposals, 2 centre clearances, when he was essentially an ever present in the middle.
(23 CBAs, compared to Chad's 14. Heeney and Jordon 24 apiece).

And even with the 1 metre handballs he had the worst disposal efficiency of anyone on our side.
His main opponent in Long, 29 disposals, 6 centre clearances (most on ground) and over 500 metres gained.

Yay 10 tackles.

Jordon was handy again tonight but he and Rowbottom in the centre bounce together doesn't work well enough for it to nearly be a permanent fixture and at present I'd take JJ over Rowbottom.

Hard to argue with any of this - those one metre handballs to a stationary Grundy were particularly galling! Never doubt his commitment, but his execution definitely hurts and, as you note, the comparison to sometime mid Long on Friday was damning.

 

[killablood]

He has a red hot go, but he is a bit of a hack. Hasn't really got much better from season to season. desperately needs to add to his skill set. Tackles well cracks in hard but doesn't add much offensively. I understand he has somewhat of a specific role but he needs to go past that. If he is going to be at as many cba and stoppages as he is we need more from him than a tackle and an over the shoulder blind kick sky ball.
I can't see another position for him either. I love the bloke but I think this is a fair whack.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

He has a red hot go, but he is a bit of a hack. Hasn't really got much better from season to season. desperately needs to add to his skill set. Tackles well cracks in hard but doesn't add much offensively. I understand he has somewhat of a specific role but he needs to go past that. If he is going to be at as many cba and stoppages as he is we need more from him than a tackle and an over the shoulder blind kick sky ball.
I can't see another position for him either. I love the bloke but I think this is a fair whack.

Cant really fault him against GC had a lot of 1on1 wins with Rowell in the first half.

 

[killablood]

Cant really fault him against GC had a lot of 1on1 wins with Rowell in the first half.

Yes but that's half the game and half the role. What he does with it when he wins it is the concern.

 

[The King!]

He was solid even when we got flogged but he isn't turning the dial , he is a foot soldier

 

[Ehswan]

Yes but that's half the game and half the role. What he does with it when he wins it is the concern.

He looked injured before half time..couldn't run

 

[ashep]

Thought he was very good in the first half against GC.

Utterly bizarre to see people downplay the contribution he makes tackling and extracting because he doesn't use it like Heeney or Erroll.

Has his flaws but unlike some others, effort can never be questioned and unlike many, is always at least making life difficult for the opposition.

Would be among the first picked every week.

 

[The King!]

Thought he was very good in the first half against GC.

Utterly bizarre to see people downplay the contribution he makes tackling and extracting because he doesn't use it like Heeney or Erroll.

Has his flaws but unlike some others, effort can never be questioned and unlike many, is always at least making life difficult for the opposition.

Would be among the first picked every week.

I certainly didn't mean foot soldier in a derogatory way for Rowy, he does his job week in week out

 

[killablood]

Thought he was very good in the first half against GC.

Utterly bizarre to see people downplay the contribution he makes tackling and extracting because he doesn't use it like Heeney or Erroll.

Has his flaws but unlike some others, effort can never be questioned and unlike many, is always at least making life difficult for the opposition.

Would be among the first picked every week.

I don't doubt he would be among first picked because you know what you will get from him. The worry is he wouldn't be in most of the better teams.
I love him and love his effort but I honestly don't think he has improved much from game one. If like we say he is a first picked type player he needs to get better and add more to his game to take us to another level. He needs to be at George Hewett levels.
I'm not saying he should be dropped or traded or anything crazy, but I think asking for a bit more from a leader and top tier player in a losing team is a reasonable ask.

 

[ashep]

I don't doubt he would be among first picked because you know what you will get from him. The worry is he wouldn't be in most of the better teams.
I love him and love his effort but I honestly don't think he has improved much from game one. If like we say he is a first picked type player he needs to get better and add more to his game to take us to another level. He needs to be at George Hewett levels.
I'm not saying he should be dropped or traded or anything crazy, but I think asking for a bit more from a leader and top tier player in a losing team is a reasonable ask.

This is all pretty reasonable.

What I would offer in his defence is that he's essentially playing a lone hand in the contest, particularly with Adams/Mills out and Parker gone.

JPK was a monster, but he, Hanners and Parker all benefitted from playing together. Three hard bodied mids over the ball at any given time is tough for an opposition to deal with.

Not to say the likes of Heeney, Jordon and Gulden don't have a go, but it's not the same as having three contested beasts cracking in together.

 

[S120]

Interesting stats of the past two weeks: Rowbottom had 8 CBAs against Carlton and 11 against Essendon. Down from consistently 20+ all year until the Bombers game. Sheldrick, McInerney and Jordon have eaten away at his centre bounce minutes and it would seem that the coaches have made the call to get some more attacking clearance players in there in Rowbottom’s stead.

 

[Callipygian]

Interesting stats of the past two weeks: Rowbottom had 8 CBAs against Carlton and 11 against Essendon. Down from consistently 20+ all year until the Bombers game. Sheldrick, McInerney and Jordon have eaten away at his centre bounce minutes and it would seem that the coaches have made the call to get some more attacking clearance players in there in Rowbottom’s stead.

Sharp observation! Thank you.

 

[Kiama Chris]

Interesting stats of the past two weeks: Rowbottom had 8 CBAs against Carlton and 11 against Essendon. Down from consistently 20+ all year until the Bombers game. Sheldrick, McInerney and Jordon have eaten away at his centre bounce minutes and it would seem that the coaches have made the call to get some more attacking clearance players in there in Rowbottom’s stead.

In the longer term I'm hopeful that Sheldrick shares that defensive load with Rowie, allowing both to be more damaging running at about 70% ToG. I see Cleary more as a first hands on mid, dishing out to Heeney, Warner, Gulden. Mills too probably. We need to use wingers better at CBAs. Watching Lloyd loitering with no intent just annoyed me. Campbell or Corey there would be more useful.
We need a proper midfield coach.

 

[S120]

In the longer term I'm hopeful that Sheldrick shares that defensive load with Rowie, allowing both to be more damaging running at about 70% ToG. I see Cleary more as a first hands on mid, dishing out to Heeney, Warner, Gulden. Mills too probably. We need to use wingers better at CBAs. Watching Lloyd loitering with no intent just annoyed me. Campbell or Corey there would be more useful.
We need a proper midfield coach.

I’d say Sheldrick would be wasted as a defensive stoppage player. Rowbottom is suited to that role but I’d say Sheldrick’s strength is being a clearance winner and being hit to by the ruck. He’s got the quick hands and nous that makes him valuable there. I’ve made this comparison before but he really strikes me as having Tom Liberatore type of potential. I don’t expect him to be that good for that long but I see similarities between the two for sure and Liberatore is much more than a defensively minded mid.

 

[Bloods86]

Interesting stats of the past two weeks: Rowbottom had 8 CBAs against Carlton and 11 against Essendon. Down from consistently 20+ all year until the Bombers game. Sheldrick, McInerney and Jordon have eaten away at his centre bounce minutes and it would seem that the coaches have made the call to get some more attacking clearance players in there in Rowbottom’s stead.

I'd noticed CBA % was down for Rowy too.

But McInerney's CBA% also decreased in the last 2 from the prior 2, Jordon has been tagging mids more from the centre square and Sheldrick isn't much more of an attacking type than Rowy, so I'm not sure it's a change in that direction.

Heeney's also went up a bit vs Carlton, as did Sheldrick's, with Warner dropping a bit, and he's certainly an attacking clearance player.

 

[The King!]

This guy keeps getting thrown up as skipper, I’m,not sure he actually plays in some sides around the league.

His effort today was a rare piss poor one, but he is just not that strong in the contest and his ball use is average.

We all like him so tend to give him a pass and praise, as he will tackle or try to but geez he is limited at times

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Rowy’s ToG has been strangely low this year & I haven’t been able to work out why.

Today he was just poor.

Can’t help but wonder if he’s playing hurt.

 

[Deccas]

Sick of squinting to see the good player with James.

In far far too many games you find yourself thinking "would you say a tackle is worth 2 possessions... and does that equal out to a good game or ..."

Just don't know if we can have one of our key midfielders be someone who will probably put in a 15 disposal 8 tackle game as a baseline.

We can speculate that this is happening because of how he's coached etc as Caesar is liable to do. But the thing is that's speculation. Maybe it's the case maybe it's not - but it's squinting to see why he's good and being let down rather than him actually just unambiguously being good. We here a lot about how much his communication and leadership etc helps everyone else. I'm not saying that's my true either ... But I'm sick of squinting I just want him to be unambiguously good.

Rowbottom is what, out 4th or 5th best midfielder? He's behind Heeney and Warner for sure. Arguably Mills or Errol if we say they're fit and playing as a midfielder etc. is he really good enough to be a locked on leading minute taker at our stoppages? I don't know.

He's had 3 sub 15 disposal games this year. He hasnt once had more than 24. Is he actually good?

 

[zyzzbruh]

He looked more powerful in the legs and core last year. Can't help but noticed he looks a lot more slight and skinnier this year.

 

[giantsully]

Rowy’s ToG has been strangely low this year & I haven’t been able to work out why.

Today he was just poor.

Can’t help but wonder if he’s playing hurt.

Definitely looked like he was struggling at times - there were several efforts that you wouldn't normally associate with JR.

As for his leadership, I'm not sure that ball use has ever been much of a criterion for suitability here - many of our favourite leaders would have been disqualified if it were.

 

[Jeffers]

Sick of squinting to see the good player with James.

In far far too many games you find yourself thinking "would you say a tackle is worth 2 possessions... and does that equal out to a good game or ..."

Just don't know if we can have one of our key midfielders be someone who will probably put in a 15 disposal 8 tackle game as a baseline.

We can speculate that this is happening because of how he's coached etc as Caesar is liable to do. But the thing is that's speculation. Maybe it's the case maybe it's not - but it's squinting to see why he's good and being let down rather than him actually just unambiguously being good. We here a lot about how much his communication and leadership etc helps everyone else. I'm not saying that's my true either ... But I'm sick of squinting I just want him to be unambiguously good.

Rowbottom is what, out 4th or 5th best midfielder? He's behind Heeney and Warner for sure. Arguably Mills or Errol if we say they're fit and playing as a midfielder etc. is he really good enough to be a locked on leading minute taker at our stoppages? I don't know.

He's had 3 sub 15 disposal games this year. He hasnt once had more than 24. Is he actually good?

Exactly this. Rowbottom is a low possession tease.
Maybe he’ll have a trajectory like Hewett if he’s given instruction to not be a defensive first midfielder and be more offensive but I can’t see it.

 

[Bloods86]

No doubt Rowy is down on form, like almost everyone.

It does get tiring though when there does seem to be analysis based on pressing sort on the disposals column and comparisons to players in different roles, that play a great quarter or half to "get us" wins that others have spent the game battling for.

 

[Deccas]

No doubt Rowy is down on form, like almost everyone.

It does get tiring though when there does seem to be analysis based on pressing sort on the disposals column and comparisons to players in different roles, that play a great quarter or half to "get us" wins that others have spent the game battling for.

sure, but if you buy sort on disposals and in about a quarter of the games he plays he gets absolutely f all, and that he plays in the part of the ground where players tend to get the most disposals and disposals are a basic rubric of how influence is measured, particularly for midfielders and that he doesn't tag anyone you can see how questions might get asked if it's his role or if it's his game?


I think a lot of it with Rowbottom is he's a meat and potatoes type player who gets a lot of tackles and doesn't do flashy shit. So basically the perfect player to big up if you want to project yourself as both old school and knowledgeable of the game, seing tactics and roles that more casual fans mightn't notice. So a lot of actually people wade in to defend him from criticism not because he is unambiguously good andshaping results regularly, but for the social capital defending him affords a defender of this sort of player on a football forum.

And none of this is to say that none of that's true. His team mates love him and I ****in love seeing him get the best part of 10 tackles a match. But im sick of looking at players like him in our team and squinting to see the good player.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

No doubt Rowy is down on form, like almost everyone.

It does get tiring though when there does seem to be analysis based on pressing sort on the disposals column and comparisons to players in different roles, that play a great quarter or half to "get us" wins that others have spent the game battling for.

I have no doubt he is playing sore

 

[Bloods86]

sure, but if you buy sort on disposals and in about a quarter of the games he plays he gets absolutely f all, and that he plays in the part of the ground where players tend to get the most disposals and disposals are a basic rubric of how influence is measured, particularly for midfielders and that he doesn't tag anyone you can see how questions might get asked if it's his role or if it's his game?


I think a lot of it with Rowbottom is he's a meat and potatoes type player who gets a lot of tackles and doesn't do flashy shit. So basically the perfect player to big up if you want to project yourself as both old school and knowledgeable of the game, seing tactics and roles that more casual fans mightn't notice. So a lot of actually people wade in to defend him from criticism not because he is unambiguously good andshaping results regularly, but for the social capital defending him affords a defender of this sort of player on a football forum.

And none of this is to say that none of that's true. His team mates love him and I ****in love seeing him get the best part of 10 tackles a match. But im sick of looking at players like him in our team and squinting to see the good player.

So basically, he might be a good player, but you aren't sure, yet you'll sledge anyone who defends him by saying they're doing it for the likes, even though they might be right?

I don't care if other people have some fantasy-footy inspired arbitrary number of disposals they think players, mids even, have to reach to be important for the team (he's averaging 18.2, 4-5 less than Chad, Heeney). I don't care if people want to directly compare him to players with different roles and strengths/weaknesses, like Chad, as if it means anything. Though Chad himself has said if he could have one mid to start a new team with, it'd be Rowy as he makes everyone else better.

Comment on him having an off day where he doesn't appear to throw himself into the contest as much sure, but if all people do is say "oh Rowy only had X disposals, bad Rowy, low impact Rowy" then maybe they are the ones being lazy and looking for easy likes / "social capital".

If people don't care about or rate Rowy throwing his body around, tackling, pressuring, getting clearances, getting smothers in, doing the tough stuff that others seem to avoid at times, then that's on them. I hope they're happy sorting by disposals and watching highlight reels to know who is important to the team.