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.

25/5/05 State of Origin Suncorp Stadium. Winning try scorer Matt Bowen with Paul Bowman and Cameron Smith. Extra time. PicGlennBarnes

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.

ORIGIN HISTORY 25 May 2005 State of ORigin Game One Queensland vs NSW at Suncorp Stadium - Matt Bowen raises his finger on his way to scoring the match winning try in extra time. PicNathan/Richter sport rugby league action crowd

“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.”

Kyle Feldt scores to become the Cowboys' all-time leading tryscorer. Picture: NRL Photos

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.”

NRL 2024 RD05 North Queensland Cowboys v Gold Coast Titans - Kyle Feldt. Picture: NRL Imagery

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.

Originally published as Cowboys winger Kyle Feldt lifts lid on his touching tribute to Matt Bowen after breaking NRL record