Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson are like the SUNS’ version of Batman and Robin, fighting for good against evil. Or at least the wants and needs of the Gold Coast SUNS against the football ‘underworld’. 

And, with apologies to those not acquainted with the famed ‘dynamic duo’, ‘Commissioner Gordon’, fictitious chief of their Gotham City precinct, would have been mighty proud of his men on Saturday.

Not for the first time, Rowell and Anderson were at their brilliant best in tandem at the MCG on Saturday as the SUNS made a brutal assault on the club record books in arguably their best win at ‘headquarters’.

The SUNS’ 18.12 (120) to 8.14 (62) triumph over Melbourne was their sixth from 19 visits to the MCG and saw them post their highest MCG score. Also, the 7.2 third quarter on Saturday was the club’s highest in any quarter at the ground, and the 13.4 second half likewise for any half.

And in what will be the most pleasing thing for coach Damien Hardwick and the football powerbrokers, the SUNS have now won a club record four consecutive games interstate.

After finishing the 2024 season with away wins over Essendon at Marvel Stadium by one point and Richmond at the MCG by 28 points, they have opened the 2025 season with away wins over West Coast at Perth Stadium by 76 points and Melbourne at the MCG by 58 points.

It is a massive turnaround under the triple premiership coach that has gone completely under the football radar.

In his first 12 games interstate with the SUNS, Hardwick went at a 2-10 record, and the only wins were technically home games played in Dawin, when they beat North Melbourne and Geelong by 10 goals-plus.

It is a run that betters the club’s three-game interstate winning streak in 2014 when, in a five-game winning streak overall, they beat Melbourne at the MCG by eight points in Round 5, North Melbourne by 43 points at Marvel and, after their bye, St Kilda at Marvel by 38 points.

And now, with the Suns set for their first home game of 2025 against Adelaide at People First Stadium on Saturday, they will be looking to equal their best start to a season which came in 2016, when they beat Essendon at home, Fremantle at Subiaco and Carlton at home by 61, 26 and 54 points respectively.

Rowell and Anderson were superb on Saturday in a SUNS performance that was most noteworthy for contributions across the board.

Touk Miller kicked a career-best three goals to go with 23 possessions and 10 score involvements, and Bailey Humphrey a career-best 15 contested possessions in 23 total possessions to go with six tackles, four clearances and two goal assists.

Ethan Read and Jed Walter enjoyed a win in their first game at the MCG, and Joel Jeffery his first MCG win in his second visit.

Rowell, arguably best afield, had 36 possessions (19 contested), 13 clearances (nine centre clearances), seven tackles, two goal assists and nine score involvements from 83% game time.

And Anderson had 35 possessions (12 contested), three clearances, four tackles, 10 score involvements and a goal from 87% game time.

It is another chapter in the shared journey of the long-time mates, who went to school together at Carey Grammar, played football together at the Oakleigh Chargers, and were drafted together with picks one and two in the 2019 AFL National Draft.

They debuted together in Round 1 2020 against Port Adelaide at People First Stadium, and after an 86-day wait due to the Covid shutdown, celebrated their first win together in Round 2 against West Coast at home. Then followed their second and third wins together in Rounds 3 and 4.

But a Rowell shoulder injury in Round 5, 2020 and a knee injury in his comeback game in Round 1, 2021 meant it was Round 13 of their second season that they finished another game together.

But since then they’ve played 78 of the last 81 games together – and the last 62 consecutively.

Rowell’s 81-game streak since Round 13, 2021 is a club record – three ahead of Sam Collins’ live streak of 78 games in a row - and ranks eighth among current AFL players.

Anderson’s 62-game streak is fourth-best in Suns history, two short of Jarrod Witts’ one-time club record of 64 from 2018-21.

Their combined 71 possessions on Saturday is their second-best together, behind only their 77 possessions in the 64-point Round 10 win over Geelong in Darwin last year.

How comforting it is for coach Hardwick to know that, when Rowell and Anderson are in the same side, on average he can expect 46.5 possessions (23.4 contested), 0.8 goals, 10.4 tackles, 11.9 clearances and 1.2 Brownlow Medal votes.

Ranked third and fourth in all-time medal votes for the Suns behind Gary Ablett and Touk Miller, they’ve polled together in the medal six times. And it will surprise nobody if they do so again when votes for last Saturday’s game are revealed in September.

It was significant on Saturday that the Rowell-Anderson combination – or perhaps the Anderson-Rowell combination it should be due to Anderson’s new role as captain – that they took down the Melbourne midfield pairing of Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver.

Collectively, the SUNS pair were plus-17 in possessions, plus-2 in tackles, plus-9 in clearances and plus-2 in score involvements against a Demons pair that has ranked with the League’s very best in recent years.

So where does the combined punch of Anderson and Rowell rank against other opposition pairings? Which other pairings are in the conversation to rival Batman and Robin?

Sydney’s Errol Gulden and Chad Warner, the Bulldogs’ Marcus Bontempelli and Adam Treloar, or Fremantle’s Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw? GWS’ Tom Green and the emerging Finn Callaghan, Port Adelaide’s Connor Rozee and Zak Butters, Carlton’s Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh, Richmond’s Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper, or Brisbane’s Lachie Neale and Josh Dunkley or Hugh McCluggage?

Suffice to say Hardwick isn’t about to trade the ‘crime fighters’ for anyone.