Geelong utility Jack Bowes on his move into the midfield and focusing on the mental side of his game

Jack Bowes was told to prepare for a role change, and the hard work has paid off. The former Sun reflects on his year ahead of his first ever final.

Get ready to play on-ball.

That was the message from Geelong to utility Jack Bowes as he prepared for the 2024 campaign.

“At the start of the off-season I sat down with the high performance staff and I think James Kelly at the time and he said just get your body ready for playing more midfield minutes next year,” Bowes said.

“What sort of came off the back of that was building a really strong strength base and getting stronger and fitter in the gym, just increasing my high speed running and stuff like that, which I feel like I have been able to do.”

The Cats delivered on their end of the bargain. After spending just 18 per cent of time on-ball last and 71 per cent in defence in his first season at Geelong, the numbers have flipped.

In 2024, Bowes has played 66 per cent of his year as a midfielder and 18 per cent in defence, with the versatile 26-year-old also spending some time on the wing and up forward.

The hard work has paid off for the former Sun. Bowes has been able to win his own ball but his defensive-minded approach has perhaps been more impressive.

Taking out his three games where he started as the substitute, Bowes has averaged 20.9 disposals, 5.7 tackles and 4.4 clearances.

Jack Bowes has spent more time in the midfield this year. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

“Wherever the team needs me, whether I need to play a role on someone inside, I’m happy to. Just being as flexible as I can and doing whatever I can to get the win for the team,” Bowes said.

Along with a big pre-season, Bowes said focusing on the mental side of the game has also improved his performance.

“I just have a plan around my consistency, just want to be a consistent performer each week. I feel I am one of the older players now, so making sure I’m at a high standard each week and not dropping too high or going too long and riding the emotional rollercoaster,”

“When you’re playing well it’s not getting ahead of yourself and when you’re playing poorly I think it is not as bad as it seems, just coming back to what I can do to contribute to the team, playing to my strengths.

“And I think I have been a lot more even keeled throughout the season and the Geelong footy program really helps that, it is pretty stress free and helps bring the best out of me.”

He enters his first final with some strong form under his belt, tallying 31 disposals against St Kilda and 24 disposals, six clearances and a goal in their win over West Coast.

Bowes can’t wait to get out there, and his enthusiasm has been infectious.

“Even just talking to him throughout the week he is just pumped and excited,” Miers said.

“You kind of thrive off that energy, even though I have done it so many times before, it kind of feels like a first final for me because it has been two years.”

Why Cats assist king is relishing Hawk-less forward line

Geelong distributor Gryan Miers believes the Cats’ new-look forward line is functioning well without champion Tom Hawkins but said his leadership in particular has been missed.

Hawkins has been sidelined since round 15 with a foot injury, with 22-year-old key forward Shannon Neale replacing him in the side from that point on and booting 12 goals in eight matches.

The Cats has won five of seven matches and averaged 97 points since Hawkins’ injury, scoring more than 100 points on four occasions — including a blistering 168 against West Coast in their last outing.

Geelong coach Chris Scott said on Monday that Hawkins is likely to play in Geelong’s VFL side in their final against Southport at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday as he pushes for AFL selection before his impending retirement.

Scott said performance and how Hawkins moves will be taken into account if he is selected, putting pressure on Neale ahead of his first final.

Miers, 25, said it has been a foreign experience not having Hawkins to kick to, having played 114 of his 129 games alongside the Cats games record holder.

But while Miers hopes Hawkins can return to the seniors before his illustrious career finishes, the creative forward is relishing playing alongside the “new era” of Cats that he is confident can achieve the same result as 2022.

Gryan Miers (left) and Shannon Neale celebrate a goal against West Coast. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“It has gone really well (without him), not saying we don’t miss Hawk, Hawk’s leadership is something that you can’t replace so we have stepped up in different ways,” Miers said.

“But it is fun just having that new era of Cats that we are bringing to the forefront and playing with Ollie (Henry) and Shannon Neale, it has just been heaps of fun playing with a heap of fresh faces.

“I’ve played with Hawk the last six years, I don’t think we have really missed a game, so it has been a bit different. But sometimes change is a bit of fun and hopefully Hawk can be out there one more time or two more times, we’ll see what happens.”

“Shannon Neale has come in and he has spent longer in VFL so I have spent a lot of time with him training together and doing those things together, so I know exactly what he’ll bring … just getting the ball to ground and letting us get in the game and keep it in our forward half while also bobbing up for 2-3 goals,” Miers said.

“He is an amazing specimen so what he can become can be absolutely anything.”

Miers said their current side pales in comparison from 2022 but that those fresh faces give the team vibrant energy.

However, he feels there are some on-field similarities to their premiership year.

Miers celebrates with Ollie Henry. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“Our form in 2022 gave us a lot of confidence that we were just winning every week in different ways. And that’s what is same as this year, we have won in so many different ways this year and I’m really confident no matter what happens on Thursday,” Miers said.

“If we are down by six goals at quarter time we can still win, if we are up by six goals we can still lose but we can just play the game in all different situations and that’s what is really good about 2022, is that no matter what they threw at us, we always found a way.

“It is a very different crew, very different team, and that’s what is different about it.

“We don’t have the Joel Selwoods and Isaac Smith and experience and leadership going around, but we have fresh faces that don’t want to waste this opportunity and fresh legs, kids that want to play finals and will run the other teams of their legs.”

Miers received widespread attention after breaking the all-time goal assist record last year — leading to meme comparisons to football icon Lionel Messi — and he was quick to point out that he and Ollie Henry have great synergy.

Over the past two seasons, only Jeremy Cameron (18) has benefited more from Miers’ sizzling passes, with the creative forward assisting 16 Henry scores.

Hawkins (12), Stengle (10) and Jack Bowes (5) round out the top five.

“I think last year when the goal assist stuff came up a lot for me, everyone was saying, ‘just kick it to Hawk and Jez’. But I think my No. 1 goal assist partner was Ollie Henry, so I think we learnt off each other really quickly and really well and I just love playing with him,” Miers said.

“He is a ball of fun, he jumps at everything. He can kick four goals in a quarter as we saw last week, so you just know he will always be ready for his moment. I just love playing with him.”

Cameron sits on top of Miers’ assist list, but that doesn’t make him predictable — both in his leading patterns and his focus on field.

“Even though he is the best he is the hardest to know what to do which is exciting and makes it unpredictable for us in an unprectable team,” Miers said.

“It is always fun to play with Jeremy, we will be down a goal in a final and he’ll come up to me and say ‘can you smell the meat pies in the crowd?’

“You’re just not sure what you’ll get from him and then he’ll kick the winning goal, so it’s just the fun of playing with Jeremy and the player he is.”

Originally published as Geelong utility Jack Bowes on his move into the midfield and focusing on the mental side of his game