Protest video, Messi & derbies - Hearts' Kye Rowles' whirlwind season

Kye Rowles is making a name for himself at Hearts

When Kye Rowles returned from the World Cup, his reputation enhanced after stellar performances on his way to the last 16 with Australia, there was chat that the centre-half might not be sticking around Tynecastle for very long, that he'd have his suitors and that soon he'd be off.

In a room at the Hearts training base, he talks about the time he's missed this season through injury (a broken metatarsal that cost him six weeks) and the spell away from the club for the World Cup.

"I've only played 14 games," he says, with number 15 coming on Friday against St Mirren. "I feel like I'm only getting started. I owe Hearts a lot for bringing me over, so I'm not thinking about going anywhere. "

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His love for his new environment shines through in its own way. Rowles is not a demonstrative guy, but there's serious depth to the defender. He's his own man; aged 24 and a leader.

If you want evidence of that then exhibit A is the World Cup, or to be more precise, the build-up to the World Cup and the stance made by Rowles and his fellow Socceroos on the plight of the migrant workers in Qatar and the country's attitudes towards the LGBTQ community.

He remembers the day when the Australia squad knew they had to say something about Qatar, something that would resonate and create a stir, no matter the cost. The Socceroos had just spoken with some migrant workers who had grim experiences to impart. The stories came tumbling out on a video call.

"I wouldn't have had that background knowledge of what was actually going on," he says. "So, to get it first hand, to see the emotion on the faces of the people we spoke to really shook me to the core. To hear it from several different workers on that call was pretty saddening and upsetting."

In October, the video that 16 members of the squad put out reverberated around world football. "It was a no-brainer," says Rowles, who was one of the 16.

"It shouldn't be, but it was a pretty dangerous thing to do, especially that far out from the World Cup. They [Fifa] could have done anything they wanted to us, but we wanted to share our thoughts and beliefs about this.

"We knew the risk but we wanted the world to know how we felt about it all. Our PFA were ready to go into bat for us if anything happened, but it never did."

What happened, of course, will go down in legend in Australia. The Socceroos beat Tunisia and Denmark, played losing finalists France in the group stage - "they smashed us 4-1" - and winners Argentina in the last 16.

They lost that last one 2-1 with Emi Martinez making an outstanding save from the teenager Garang Kuol, now Rowles' Hearts team-mate.

"The young fella was so upset after, he was crying and saying he should have scored, but it was a world-class save," says Rowles.

There's a film in existence called Facing Ali, a series of interviews with many of the heavyweight fighters who shared a ring with him. The follow-up could be Facing Messi, a film of the defenders charged with the task of stopping a man who, like Muhammad Ali, could lay claim to being the greatest of all-time.

Rowles is now one of those defenders. He played every minute of Australia's four games in Qatar and drew sizeable praise.

"I was nervous because of what the situation was - a World Cup knockout game - not because of who it was," says the defender. "If you get wrapped up in, 'oh my God, it's Messi', then he'll thump you.

"He scored and they were 2-0 ahead and then we made it 2-1 and Martinez made that save to stop it going it to 2-2. The way they celebrated that save was huge. I did think about it a little bit after the game because you're devastated and you're like, 'what if he didn't save it?'

"It felt like we were really getting into the game, we could have gone to extra-time, penalties, who knows? But you can look at every little moment and say, 'what if?' You can't really live like that."

We know that his Hearts team-mate Cammy Devlin got Messi's shirt at the end. The fact that Rowles didn't even try to get it is instructive. He comments: "I didn't get any shirts. I'd rather my friends and family get mine. Everybody is different. If there is an opportunity to get the shirt of probably the greatest player ever, then why not, if you're into that.

"I walked out into the stadium after the Argentina game to give my shirt to my family, but they'd already left." He laughs at the memory of that. It was supposed to be a big emotional handover, but they'd scarpered.

Amassing mementoes from superstar players is not something that interests him. It never has. Rowles was 20 when Usain Bolt became his team-mate at the Central Coast Mariners in New South Wales, the Olympic champ desperate to launch himself into professional football career the way he propelled himself out of the starting blocks in his pomp.

It didn't work out for the big man. Two months and he was done. Rowles remembers Bolt as down to earth and a keen learner, but he was never going to make it as a footballer. He doesn't have a Bolt shirt either.

'It's about getting as close to second as we can'

To say that his 2022 was eventful would be underplaying it somewhat. He moved from Australia to Edinburgh halfway through the year and in his second game with Hearts played in an Edinburgh derby at Easter Road.

His international team-mate, Martin Boyle, scored a late, late equaliser. Rowles admits to being so annoyed in the aftermath that he didn't shake Boyle's hand. That was an eye-opening introduction to life in the capital.

"I guess we got the picture of what not losing against Hearts means to them," he says, with a smile. "Their celebrations were pretty wild. To put three on them on them the other week was a pretty nice feeling."

Hearts have had a freakish run of injuries this season, a form of musical chairs happening in their treatment room.

Craig Gordon is out with a broken leg, Liam Boyce and Craig Halkett are missing with cruciate ligament injuries, following in the slipstream of Beni Baningime, who hasn't been seen all season. Peter Haring has had concussion. Stephen Kingsley has had hamstring problems - and concussion.

"How everybody has managed the injury crisis has been pretty astonishing," Rowles says. "I mean, you look at Craigy. He could easily be sad and not talk to anyone and feel sorry for himself but he's doing exactly what you would expect him to do. Happy, positive, talking to all the boys, asking how we are, just being the selfless leader that he is.

"Before every game he's sending out positive messages to the group, it's really motivational. He's still leading. Those little messages make you realise you're really lucky to be out there, so you're going to give everything for Craigy, for Halks, for Boycey, for Beni. If we're winning games we'll put a smile on their face."

Hearts will go six points clear in third place if they win on Friday. "It's about getting as close to second place as we can, about the cup [Hibs at Easter Road again on January 22] about giving the fans things to be happy about," says Rowles, who has a wise head on those youthful shoulders.

So few games, but such a big impact already.

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