Homegrown Sun Jack Bowes ready to take on mentor Gary Ablett
Jack Bowes is among a crop of young Gold Coast footballers to have starred this season but a challenge against his former mentor Gary Ablett Jr awaits.
While Matt Rowell is indisputably the new face of football on the Gold Coast, Jack Bowes is representative of the talent Suns executives are banking on to become the club’s soul.
A homegrown hopeful. A role model to the next generation of young Queensland footballers. One who can demonstrate the opportunities that Australian rules football provides.
And Bowes is off to a great start. The Cairns-raised footballer will step out for his 47th match against Geelong on Saturday having firmly established himself on the Gold Coast.
Travelling for the first time this season, the Suns are sitting second on the ladder and enter the match with three wins in succession. The enthusiasm around the club is high ahead of what is a difficult road trip.
“It is really exciting to get those wins on the board early on,” Bowes said.
“Obviously being such a young team, we are starting to build our belief and our confidence.”
In a recent interview with The Weekend Australian, Gold Coast chief executive Mark Evans outlined the inroads the Suns and Brisbane had made over the past decade growing the game through Queensland.
Participation numbers have jumped from 100,000 when the Suns entered the competition a decade ago to 290,000. Entries in a state schools competition have risen by more than 300 per cent in five years.
Evans predicted the increase in matches played in Queensland in 2020 would provide tremendous exposure and a chance to grow the AFL further.
This opportunity grew significantly on Friday with news six Victorian clubs are to be relocated to Queensland as the AFL seeks to negotiate the logistical challenges of the COVID-19 crisis.
West Coast, Fremantle, Port Adelaide and the Crows have been on the Gold Coast in a hub over the past month but are due to return to their home states over the next fortnight.
Bowes, who was drafted into a Suns academy at the age of 13, said it was clear to him there was growing interest in the code in the expansion territory.
A slight reshuffle of plans... 😬
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“That has been there for 10 years or so now and it has really started to grow,” he said.
“Participation numbers have been growing through the roof in Queensland, especially with the AFLW coming in, there are so many more women playing the game.”
Similarly to Evans, Bowes knows there is no substitute for success. And winning games early in the season is not unusual for the club. The challenge is to sustain their form.
“What is going to get us more support and fans is us winning more matches and being more competitive,” he said.
“Hopefully the Gold Coasters and the Queensland community can get on board and get behind us.”
The initial goals for the Gold Coast this season hardly sounded lofty. After losing 18 games in succession to finish 2019, the Suns aimed to stay in matches for longer and be far more competitive. So far, so good. A reduction in the length of quarters to 16.5 minutes has helped. The Suns have been faster and stronger for longer than their rivals in recent weeks.
“There is also that saying in footy that when you are winning the ball, you are saving your legs as well,” Bowes said.
The 22-year-old, whose great uncle Bill Bowes was an English cricketer who bowled Don Bradman first ball with the first ball he faced in the Bodyline series, is adept at manning champions.
He was thrust into the midfield last year and tasked with stopping Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe and Carlton captain Patrick Cripps, among others.
The drafting of Rowell and recruitment of Hugh Greenwood from Adelaide has bolstered the Suns’ midfield stocks and coach Stuart Dew opted to deploy Bowes across half-back.
It is a position of importance in the AFL given the best teams often launch their forward forays from defence.
The No 10 pick in the 2016 draft demonstrated how influential he could be in the position in a pre-season encounter against the Cats when restricting his former captain Gary Ablett Jr to just eight touches.
The task will be tougher should Bowes man Ablett on Saturday.
The dual-Brownlow medallist is celebrating his 350th game, while Geelong skipper Joel Selwood will play his 300th. Bowes, though, is excited about the challenge ahead.
“Having Gary here in my first year, he helped me out a lot, on and off the field with my footy,” Bowes said.
“I have really enjoyed watching his career as it has unfolded. We are really looking forward to getting down there.”
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