Cowboys winger Kyle Feldt lifts lid on his touching tribute to Matt Bowen after breaking NRL record
Kyle Feldt revealed a brief moment during his record-breaking try was a special tribute to the Cowboys’ greatest ever fullback. Find out how Feldt knew an intercept was on the cards.
Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Cowboys fan favourite Kyle Feldt has lifted the lid on his touching tribute to Matt Bowen as the veteran winger eclipsed ‘Mango’s’ all-time club record.
Feldt pounced on a telegraphed AJ Brimson cut-out pass in the 69th minute on Sunday and raced almost 50 metres to notch his 131st four-pointer in Cowboys colours, putting his nose ahead of Bowen as North Queensland’s most prolific NRL tryscorer.
But a small hand motion just before the line – a nod to the legendary Bowen’s celebration, perhaps made most famous during his matchwinning 2005 State of Origin Game 1 golden point intercept – almost went unnoticed.
Feldt said it was an overwhelming feeling of relief that washed over him with the roar of the local crowd.
“There’s been a lot of hype about it through the whole club and the community and that so it was kind of the monkey off the back, which is great,” Feldt said.
“In the moment I didn’t really think about it too much, just caught the ball and ran.
“Then I think about 10 metres out I kind of started thinking a little bit more so I stuck a little finger up, a Matty Bowen salute, which was pretty cool.
“I’m lucky enough to get the record now and (I’ll) hold it for as long as I can.”
Feldt, 32, is in the final year of his contract and is just three games away from earning life membership with a 200th appearance for the Cowboys.
He said he would think more about that milestone when it comes, but that he looked forward to extending his scoring record before hanging up his boots.
“It’s been a few days now. On the way home my wife asked me how does it feel and to be honest I was more pleased that we got the win for Jake (Granville),” Feldt said.
“Now it’s been a couple days and it’s finally sunk in and I know it’s going to be a record that will probably be hard to beat.
“I’ve still got a few games in me this year that I can try to add to it and make that stretch a bit better.”
Feldt revealed he had been keeping a close eye on the Gold Coast attack after Cowboys coaching staff identified a recurring tactic.
“Being around the game for so long I have an understanding of where to put myself in the defensive line, and at that time of the game we were down to 12 men and we had done a fair bit of video on them, of them coming out of yardage and always trying to get early ball out to (David) Fifita or Brian Kelly,” Feldt said.
“At that stage in the game I just noticed that Kelly was a little bit wider than usual and I saw that Brimson was looking to hit him and I just got myself up into the line and I was lucky enough to catch it and go.”
Feldt will look to extend his record when North Queensland plays Parramatta on Saturday evening.
More Coverage
Originally published as Cowboys winger Kyle Feldt lifts lid on his touching tribute to Matt Bowen after breaking NRL record
‘Devastating’: Greyhound’s ghastly track injury, death reignites racing debate
The death of a greyhound following a neck-breaking crash at a Qld meet has attracted the furore of anti-racing advocates, but industry chiefs insist it was a “freak” accident on “one of the best tracks” in the state. *Distressing content.
The top performances from the NQ U15 Cricket Championships
Re-live the action from this weekend’s under-15 Northern Hub cricket championships and see which performances caught our eye. Find out who was crowned player of the carnival and who starred with ball and bat for each side.