Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick lauded the stunning performance of Matt Rowell after the 23-year-old produced one of, if not the, most dominant games of his career.

The 2019 No.1 pick amassed a career-high 36 disposals, 19 contested possessions, 13 clearances (nine centre clearances), eight inside 50s and seven tackles against a midfield stacked full of All-Australian superstars. 

"You look at this guy and what he means to our footy club, our fans love him, our coaches love him, he is just an incredible player. We are very, very fortunate to have him," Hardwick said in his press conference.

"We understand how important he is to us. We have to make sure we hold up our end of the bargain, make sure we win games of footy. 

"He is a winner – that's what he wants to be a part of – so we've got some work to do. We know that. We'll back ourselves in, but he has had an incredible start to the season. He is a wonderful player."

After ending an unwanted run of 16 consecutive losses on the road, Gold Coast has now won its past four away from Carrara, including the first two of 2025. 

Hardwick said winning on the road early – and at the MCG – helps reinforce the belief the group has in a year where the SUNS are expected to play finals for the first time since they joined the AFL in 2011. 

"The narrative last year where we couldn't win away, we probably rectified that a little bit towards the back end of last year," Hardwick said. 

"To have pretty good wins against West Coast, who granted are learning a new system, and then also Melbourne who were under the pump. 

"For our guys to set the tone was really, really important. They will gain confidence from that. They've got this inner belief of what we can do and how far that can take us. It's always good to put performances on the board that validate that."

Gold Coast will return to Queensland for the club's first home game of 2025 on Saturday against Adelaide.