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The missing string St Kilda’s Rowan Marshall wants to add to his bow
Rowan Marshall’s 2023 stats sheet was a thing of beauty, rating elite in disposals, contested possessions and pressure – but there was one glaring omission. The St Kilda big man speaks to JON RALPH about what he’s trying to improve in 2024.
Jon Ralph

They are the beautiful set of numbers with an asterisk Rowan Marshall already has a plan to erase.

As the brilliant St Kilda ruckman took all before him last season, his weaknesses echoed a Saints team that wasn’t quite dangerous enough to rack up big scores against rivals.

To round 17 despite an exceptional season he had kicked a single goal in a St Kilda side that had hit 100 points just once.

It is a measure of his all-round ability that by identifying that need he finished the season hitting the scoreboard in seven of his final eight games.

The last contest?

A nine-clearance, 31-possession masterclass in the MCG final against GWS as he surged forward early to draw a holding free kick for St Kilda’s second goal.

By year’s end those Champion Data numbers were awesome – elite in disposals, contested possessions and pressure and yet only above average in scoreboard impact.

It is why the All Australian 44 squad member should set his sights on becoming footy’s best ruckman if he can turn that late-season trend into a year-long output.

If he can kick 20 goals given his clearance work and huge possession rate there is nothing stopping him.

For New Zealand born Marshall it is only another evolution of a late-glooming career that started as a key forward when taken as a rookie plucked from the VFL with North Ballarat.

“It was one of the main things I focused on in the second half of the year. Trying to go forward, trying to impact the scoreboard more and I think I was able to do that. It’s something I have worked on pretty hard in the pre-season and hopefully it eventuates during games in the season,” he said ahead of the club’s Moorabbin clash against North Melbourne on Sunday.

“I got drafted as a forward and I think I have pretty good forward craft but I am better off playing in the ruck.

“Obviously the benchmark of the competition is Tim English. You saw that last year and my respect for rival ruckman is so high, but Max Gawn on his day is really damaging with the way he can go forward and take a mark and hit the scoreboard.”

Marshall is a huge admirer of free agent English given his blend of midfield help (74 clearances) and goal power (16 goals) and yet in many ways they play such a similar brand.

Contest the stoppage then quickly morph into an extra mid capable of winning clearances or throwing their weight around to block for a teammate.

“It’s just his size and ability to cover the ground. He is so mobile and he is that modern-day athlete which a lot of clubs are striving for. He is just that extra midfielder for the Dogs,” said Marshall.

So to take the crown Marshall will have to take down the reigning All Australian ruckman.

He admits his vast ambition even if he quickly dovetails it into a reply that takes in Lyon’s team-first attitude.

“I think everyone wants to be the best ruck or the best player in the game. But I think what motivates me is team success at the end of the day. It’s why I play the game, to experience that feeling as a team rather than individual. There is no better feeling than coming into the rooms after a hard-fought win than singing the song with your teammates. It’s the reason I play footy, to share those memories and experiences with your best mates.”

For that reason Marshall’s memories of that MCG finals loss to GWS are bittersweet.

Marshall and skipper Jack Steele fought hard with strong individual games but the midfield was battered and bruised by game’s end.

Still, the feeling of running out onto the MCG for the first final in a final after two 2020 finals on the Gabba and Gold Coast was utterly addictive.

“It was obviously pretty exciting to get there, but we were pretty disappointed with the way we finished that final. It left a bit of a sour taste in our mouths. We have definitely put the work in over this pre-season to strive to get back there just so we can show the fans how hard we are working. They have probably been starved of success in St Kilda’s history.

“We went through it a fair bit (post-match). GWS are a great side and went deep into finals, but I thought we got beaten up around the ball at times, but it’s something we have been working on and something we want to improve if we are to get back there.”

The St Kilda midfield has been rejigged over summer with Liam Henry an exciting new addition and Mattaes Phillipou moving from half forward, even if Paddy Dow (knee) and Hunter Clark (calf, face) have been set back by recent injuries.

The influx of talent – ex-Port Adelaide defender Riley Bonner, electric half forward Darcy Wilson, wing-mid Henry – is all about building an elite running game.

“The style we want to play is as a hard-running team. Everyone has worked on it over pre-season and a lot of boys have come back and run PBs. I have never seen a kid come in and run so well like Wilson. His aerobic capacity is incredible for an 18-year-old kid. He’s a special kid as well. Self driven and he’s going to be an exciting player for us for years to come.”

The club’s No.50 draft selection Hugo Garcia adds hardness and polish off half back as a possible round 1 addition, while Bonner adds class and run.

“He’s been a sleeper through the pre-season,” Marshall says of Bonner.

“He has just rocked up and trained well and hasn’t had much attention in the media but what you saw from him in the practice game (against Essendon) is what he has done through the pre-season. He’s a really exciting player.”

Marshall knows everyone wants to know who the real Ross Lyon really is.

For him the best way to sum up Lyon’s impact is in the driving of elite standards and rigid adherence to role in the club’s well-drilled game plan.

“It’s probably all those things. Even in meetings, everyone is all over our game plan. Everyone has got a real clear understanding of their role and what need to achieve on game day

And if you don’t know that, then I guess it makes it hard to play in the team.

You can’t play in the team. It’s what we love about Ross, those standards that he drives.

“He has put a lot of trust and responsibility into his coaching team and assistants and you only have to look at their resumes and what they have achieved in the past. But that’s what we love about him. Everyone on this list wants to get better. Ross is really keen to drive those standards and hold us to account. We have loved every minute of Ross being on board.”