Former Gold Coast Titans player Brenton Bowen’s brave tumour battle
THIS Gold Coast Titans player only spent two seasons on the field before confronting a life-changing battle. This is his story.
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AFTER 50 games running into NRL rivals, it was a tamer opposition that brought Brenton Bowen undone.
“We went to Sushi Train one day and I just couldn’t judge when the sushi was coming past,” the former Cowboy and Titan said.
“The co-ordination just wasn’t there.
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“My eyesight was blurred out – I kept reaching out for it (but couldn’t grab it).”
That 2011 episode in a Cairns restaurant would sadly spark more than 12 months of struggles for the 35-year-old who made his name – like those in his family – as a dashing outside back.
Within a week Bowen visited his doctor and was referred to an eye specialist.
Two weeks later, he was on an operating table.
“I was getting blurred vision in my right eye but at first they just thought it was cataract damage,” he said.
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“When they said they found a tumour, I just thought ‘is it cancerous, is it benign?’.
“When they came back and said it was benign it was such a relief.”
This battle still wasn’t over for the father-of-two (daughter Elijah-Jade, 10, and son Asher, 6).
“So 12 months later I had an MRI scan and they found an infected cell so I had to go down to Melbourne because that’s the only place that had the radiation machine,” he said.
“I used up all of my sick leave and annual leave and that’s when Men of League (charity organisation) came to the rescue.
“We couldn’t pay for the accommodation when we were down there and they helped out.”
These days, thankfully all clear, Bowen lives in Brisbane and is nearing his long-service leave working at Centrelink.
He also owns a small slice of Titans history.
After four seasons at the Cowboys, he opted for the security of a two-year stint at the newly-formed Gold Coast franchise in 2008.
“I was playing regular first grade with the Cowboys but for whatever reason they only offered me one year and the Titans offered me two,” he said.
“I was under the shadow of Matty (cousin Matt Bowen) and I wanted to go somewhere else and I thought they were a good fit.
“It was (very hard to leave) because I grew supporting the Cowboys and playing with my cousin but (Matt) was one of the first people I told.
“He just said ‘do whatever you need to do to support yourself’.”
Bowen’s gamble looked to pay off … until rival wingers David Mead and Kevin Gordon emerged.
He played five NRL games early in 2008, achieving the rare feat of scoring a try with his first touch of the football in Titans colours.
However, he spent 2009 in the Intrust Super Cup with Tweed Heads.
Call it the ambitious mindset of a player who had a brush with death, Bowen remains far from content with his career at the Titans.
“I feel like I could have done better,” he said.
“It didn’t turn out the way I hoped – I thought I had a few good games but they had good depth.
“(My time at the Titans) was about missed opportunities and in that last season I didn’t apply myself as well as I should have; I just accepted the fact I was going to play ISC.
“Things got to me and it got in my head a bit when I wasn’t playing first grade – I felt I was way down the pecking order.
“Towards the end I didn’t have the passion to play rugby league.”
Bowen, though, reserves special praise for the inaugural coach.
“I liked the way John Cartwright got involved with players – he didn’t just sit back and let the assistants run the show,” he said.
“That’s what I loved about the Titans, that and playing alongside Scott Prince and the likes.”
The end was predictable. The method not so.
“I read about it in the Gold Coast Bulletin that they weren’t going to renew my contract,” he said.
“It was disappointing but I knew because I’d played all season with Tweed so it wasn’t a surprise.”
Despite offers from two NRL clubs, Bowen went back to Cairns and ISC club Northern Pride.
His health issues in the coming years would effectively end his career, despite an aborted attempt in 2013 to return to the field.
“I went back to the Pride for a train and trial and did the pre-season but it wasn’t the same,” he said.
“I just didn’t have the passion for it.
“(After the health scare football) was the last thing on my mind. I knew I’d be out indefinitely or maybe even definitely.”
Bowen, though, has appeared in a string of low-key matches and will line up in a Mark Hughes Foundation charity game at Redlands next month (OCT).
“I don’t have any spare time these days,” he said.
“Any spare time is with my kids.
“And when the Titans and Cowboys play each other I make sure I watch.”
BRENTON BOWEN
Born: Cairns, Queensland
Age: 35
Lives: Brisbane with partner Kia and her four children
Position: Winger, occasional fullback
Junior career:
Represented Queensland in under-15 and under-17 schoolboys teams
NRL career:
North Queensland: 45 games (22 tries) from 2003-2007
Gold Coast: Five games (two tries) in 2008
Did you know?
Bowen scored with his first touch of the ball in his first NRL game for Titans
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