Matt Bowen
| File:Mattbowenround72007.jpg | |
Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Bowen |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight | 12 st 5 lb (78 kg) |
| Position | Full-Back |
Matthew Bowen (born 9 March, 1982 in Cairns, Queensland) is an Australian rugby league player for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League competition, has played for the Queensland State of Origin Team. He is considered one of the most exciting and unpredictable player in Rugby League History
His club position is Fullback although he is usually used as a utility bench player when playing for Queensland. On the 2004 Tri-Nations tour of Great Britain he played fullback for Australia in the tour matches.
Playing career
Bowen's love for the game grew from his upbringing in the remote Cape York town of Hopevale, under the guidance of his father and mother who watched him playing football, fishing, and riding horses.With his cousin Brenton Bowen started his junior playing career with both Souths in Townsville and playing for his school, Abergowrie College. Impressing many with his pace, agility and ability, he was duly selected in the Queensland Schoolboys in 1999, Queensland Under 19's in 2000 and the Junior Kangaroos in 2001. Despite his early athletic achievements, he was always told he was too small, and coaches typically felt he was too light-weight to play in the major leagues. [citation needed] However, Bowen has proven time and time again that skill, finesse, and brilliant decision making are capable of beating bulk [neutrality is disputed]. He is notorious for using an Allen Iverson-like cross-over move in rugby league, known as a sidestep, that only few can master in a fast professional game. [neutrality is disputed]
North Queensland Cowboys
Bowen was signed by the North Queensland Cowboys in his teens, and made his first grade debut on February 17, 2001 against state rivals the Brisbane Broncos at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
In 2005, Bowen was at the top of the try-scorers list with 21. [citation needed] He, combined with player of the year Johnathan Thurston, lead a young Cowboys side to the Grand final, eventually falling short in a 30-16 loss to the Wests Tigers. Bowen was again added to the tour of England but was not used in a controversial decision [citation needed].
In 2006, Bowen gained starting selection for the Queensland team. After scoring the most tries in 2005 (21) he scored only a low 5 in 2006.
In 2007, Bowen has displayed the attacking brilliance he is renowned for has resulted in him leading the NRL after 20 rounds in tries scored (18) and line breaks (24). [citation needed] After being not selected for the first 2 games of the 2007 Rugby League State of Origin series, his form was rewarded on 30 June 2007 with a late call up to replace the injured Jacob Lillyman in the final game of the series.
Representative Career
He finished the 2004 season on a high by being selected for Australia for the Tri-Nations Tour to England. While he did not play an official Test match, he played fullback for the ANZACs (against Cumbria), for Australia against France, and again against the USA in the match at Philadelphia on the return leg of the tour. During this game, a fatigued Australian side that had conquered England and played a lengthy representative and club season were losing to the United States and used Bowen from the bench who scored three tries, resulting in eventual victory for the Australian side.
Bowen proved to be the game-breaker in the first match of the 2005 Rugby League State of Origin series. After coming off the bench in the second half, he intercepted a pass from New South Wales Half-Back Brett Kimmorley and ran 40m to score in Extra Time, thus winning the game for Queensland. Bowen would also score tries in the second and third game of the and would gain a starting selection for Game 3 before being dropped after Game 1 of the 2006 Series.
Statistics
Club Football
North Queensland Cowboys
2001 - Present
| Matches | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 156 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Representative Football
Queensland
2003 - Present
| Matches | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Australia
2004 - Present
| Matches | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Achievements
Individual
2007: Leading tryscorer (21) (tied with Israel Falou)
2007: Dally M Fullback of the Year
Team
2005: NRL Grand Final - North Queensland Cowboys - Runners-up
Trivia
- He is a cousin of Brenton Bowen