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MT Smart wrote:

Panchitta Marra wrote:

ddtftf wrote:I am going to stick my neck out here and say that Bowen will be a better fullback than Sam, he is just as quick links up like Sam but has a great kicking game close to the line and puts out great passes to create tries. I have all the Cowboys games this year and he has been outstanding all year. If he breaks the line no one will catch him, I wish my knees were as bad as his. I honestly think the Cowboys have overstated the knee problem to allow him to get a good payday for his loyalty to the Cowboys, and to appease the Cowboy fans with an excuse for letting him go.

What's he like under the high ball and in general defending ddtftf.

Here's my two c

Early in his Career Bowen was tested as much as any Fullback under the highball because...well he's short.

That didn't workout for the opposition.

The New Zealand Warriors had the best under the highball player in the NRL for more than six years , Manu Vagtuvei could take balls off kicks no one else in the NRL could stop.

It was common knowledge that Manu was the best Airial player the NRL had ever seen and as such the betting Agency in NZ made an advert about Kicking it to Manu on the Fifth.


Here's the thing about Bowen , Manu was used to target him.

Six Foot four 110kg Manu couldn't dominate Bowen in one on one contest which is why the Warriors inexplicably lost to poorly performing North Queensland when the Warriors were raging hot favorites in the mid 2000's to late in the decade.

Bowen is one of the best defensive fullbacks in the NRL.

Sorry I thought that Manu was terrible under the high ball early in his career, they used to kick to him as his hands were terrible

ddtftf wrote:Sorry I thought that Manu was terrible under the high ball early in his career, they used to kick to him as his hands were terrible

That is the Enigma of Manu.

Like the rest of his team mates he is a confidence player.

Catching the ball when the opposition kick to him is a lottery.

During his peak , taking kicks on attack he was un rivaled.

Incredibly frustrating player.

There were whole threads bemoaning Ivan cleary using Manu as the single point of attack......the kick to Manu is a NZwarriors legend.


On the flip side the reputation for dropping balls wasn't helped by his infamous game against the Eels where he dropped five in a row !


Manu doesn't recieve kicks anymore on attack on account of his knees being wrecked by all that leaping to score tries.

Bowen was one of the few players that had his number when Manu ran hot / was untouchable under the high ball for several seasons

Folau is the best I have seen attacking high balls. Defensively Steve Hampson and Greg Bretnall are the best I have ever seen.

cpwigan wrote:Folau is the best I have seen attacking high balls. Defensively Steve Hampson and Greg Bretnall are the best I have ever seen.

Yeah Falau was pretty special , shame he has gone to the dark side , seems between him and SBW there will be a new Marquee player exemption in the NRL. The other two players I don't know but I take it they must have had nerves of steele.

Bowen will be an interesting addition if signed , hope his body holds out , if it does it will be smiles all round , he is such a likeable person and all round good influence on others by in large.

Correct cp Steve Hampson by a country mile.If Bowen is half the player of Hampo then we'll take him despite the knackered knees.

KOOCH wrote:Correct cp Steve Hampson by a country mile.If Bowen is half the player of Hampo then we'll take him despite the knackered knees.

Hampo was that good under the high ball teams stopped trying to kick bombs at him! They just gave up!

Hampson rose like a salmon to catch the high balls. Simply the best!

East Stand Faithful wrote:Hampson rose like a salmon to catch the high balls. Simply the best!

Great definitive

Best full back I have ever seen

http://www.nrl.com/bowen-set-for-uk-and ... ault.aspx?


Life without Matt Bowen has officially begun at North Queensland with ex-Penrith fullback Lachlan Coote's arrival on Thursday.

But rumours about another No.1 - Wigan star Sam Tomkins - have renewed speculation Bowen will extend his glittering career in England next year.

English reports claim Tomkins this week will finally end months of talk and confirm he has signed a lucrative Warriors NRL deal, meaning Bowen will play with Wigan in 2014.

According to the reports, Wigan asked English international Tomkins to delay announcing his NRL deal until they had secured his replacement Bowen on a one-year contract.

"With North Queensland Cowboys' No.1 Matty Bowen agreeing to a swansong campaign in Super League, they now appear poised to reveal their plans for 2014," a Wigan Today report said.

"Bowen, a firm crowd pleaser for more than a decade in the NRL, is thought to have signed a one-year deal."

Comment was being sought from Bowen's manager Wayne Beavis.

Playing in England's freezing north seemed the last thing on Bowen's mind this week as he spent his final days with Cowboys teammates in north Queensland's sunny Whitsunday islands.

After their NRL finals campaign was cut short by a 20-18 loss, marred by Cronulla's seventh-tackle try last weekend, the Cowboys spent time on North Queensland club chairman Lawrence Lancini's yacht off Airlie Beach.

In one of his final acts as a Cowboy, Bowen drove the team bus for the four-hour trip from Townsville to the idyllic beach town.

Bowen will leave a huge hole at the Cowboys after a 13-year NRL career that produced 267 games - a club record.

North Queensland football manager Peter Parr described the task of filling the ex-Test No.1's shoes would be like "coming in after Bradman".

But Coote said he was excited by the prospect of donning the North Queensland favourite son's No.1 jersey when he toured the club's facilities on Thursday.

"I've got a lot of respect for Matty Bowen. He's done a lot for the game and for the Cowboys as well," said Coote who scored 43 tries in 83 games for Penrith.

"I've watched him play as I've grown up and he's left some fast boots to fill.

"I'm pretty confident that I'll fit in alright. I'm looking forward to it."

Coote will return north for the start of pre-season training in early November.

"I'm hoping that I come out in round one and the fans seem to like me," he said.

"It's a bit nerve-racking coming into a new side and trying to win the fans over.

"I'll just play my game and do what I do best. Hopefully I can provide some excitement."