Incredible moment Gold Coast Suns AFL star Matt Rowell eats grass before loss to Melbourne Demons
Incredible moment Gold Coast AFL star Matt Rowell eats grass in weirdest pre-game preparation ever ahead of his side’s narrow loss to Melbourne
- Pre-game ritual completely baffles everyone
- Star’s feeding habits captured by Seven’s cameras
- Eating grass is not a wise move
In 2019, star AFL midfielder Matt Rowell was the first player to be drafted that year. In 2023, he became the first AFL player to be caught on camera eating the grass from the surface of the stadium he was about to play on.
In what can only be described as a truly bizarre moment, the Suns gun fell to his haunches, grabbed a handful of grass from Heritage Bank Stadium before Saturday’s game against the Demons – and ate it.
Now, don’t be overly alarmed.
Matt Rowell shocks everyone when he eats a slice of Heritage Bank Stadium right before going out and playing a great game for the Suns against the Demons
Basically, people can consume some grasses. Many are nontoxic and edible, and in fact our ancient ancestors ate on grass millions of years ago, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
However, as a practical source of food, your lawn leaves much to be desired.
And some grasses can cause huge problems.
The common grass that grows on footyfields, for example, is not good to eat.
Aside from the risks of dirt, germs and bacteria, which Rowell would have consumed in abundance, it contains a large amount of cellulose, which humans cannot digest.
So kids, don’t try this at home. Or on Saturday before a game.
Fox Footy host Andrew Gaze came up with a theory when he saw footage of Rowell’s frenzied preparation for the game.
“It’s about connecting,” Gaze reasoned.
“You connect with your environment and then it all comes back, it’s like this big circle.”
Matty Rowell still appears to be ruminating during game against the Demons after eating grass prior to kickoff
It’s a good thing Gazey didn’t do the same during his career. Imagine the splinters.
The comments flew all over social media and were as varied as the concept of eating grass was strange.
Brian Marshall said on Twitter, “Weird? But dangerously, the site was probably sprayed with fertilizer and weed killer.’ Jenny Beck was a little bolder, ‘Ffs. No change. That’s disgusting,” while Dee Folt just seemed to accept it with, “That man’s a gun. Weird, but a gun!’
In any case, as symbolic as the gesture was for Rowell, the Suns played valiantly but went to Melbourne by just five points, despite missing key players.
For what it’s worth, Matty Rowell played extremely well.
The Demons’ 13.12 (90) to 13.7 (85) victory marked their 11th straight defeat by the Suns.
Darcy Macpherson missed his shot to tie the game with 20 seconds remaining, while key striker Ben King was previously controversially denied a free kick at a crucial stage.
Gold Coast were without injured star trio Touk Miller, Ben Ainsworth and Lachie Weller, but Noah Anderson stepped up with 36 touches and one goal.
He and resident bull Rowell – 11 clearances, 13 contested possessions – reigned among Melbourne’s best with Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver as the Suns fell to three wins and five losses for the season.