#11 Matt Bowen
To me, Matty Bowen is one of the most under-appreciated players in the competition. Sure, everyone acknowledges he's a really good player, but I see him as one of the true superstars of the game, and that's why he comes in here at number 11. It's easy to understand why Bowen at times flies under the radar, he plays in the shadow of Thurston at the Cowboys, JT is the identity of that team, and the spotlight for their attacking nous primarily shines on him. He's only had one game for Australia, and despite lodging 10 games for Queensland, he hasn't been in the team since 2007 so he isn't exactly basking in the limelight on the representative stage. At the ripe age of 30, Bowen is amongst the oldest players in my countdown, making his début all the way back in 2001. As he prepares to embark on what will be his thirteenth NRL season, all of them with his beloved Cowboys, Bowen comes off yet another fantastic season, 78 points, 13 tries, 21 line breaks, 117 tackle busts (tied for third in the competition), 189 kicks in play and 28 try assists which was second only to Benji Marshall and Cooper Cronk. These stats tell the story of one of the most exciting, creative, dangerous attacking players in the competition, as you would expect from a former Dally M Fullback of the Year and two time leading NRL try scorer. Then consider this, Bowen was second in Dally M voting for 2012, missing out to Ben Barba, and consider this also, Bowen was second in Dally M Fullback of the year voting, again missing out to Barba. If not for Barba putting on one of the greatest individual seasons we've seen, we'd quite possibly be talking about Bowen being the best player in the competition in 2012. This while playing with a banged up shoulder most of the season that required off season surgery.
2012 was a fabulous year for the Cowboys speedster
Mellow on those stats from Bowen for a moment, they're certainly very impressive, placing him among the best players in the NRL. Then consider that he puts up those stats playing with Jonathan Thurston. Now of course, JT has a positive influence on his team-mates stats when it comes to things like line breaks and tries, it's but one of his many glorious talents the way he can put guys through the line. But consider the fact that Bowen has to share the ball around with Thurston, indeed JT is the primary playmaker on the Cowboys. Yet Bowen still had more try assists than Thurston, 28 to 23 and he still put up a whopping number of kicks despite being behind team mate Thurston. What kind of gaudy numbers could Bowen put up if he was the main conductor on the team? well we are exposed to that when Thurston leaves the scene for Origin duty and the burden falls heavier on Bowen, and Bowen delivers time after time showing himself to be more than capable of being the go to guy. As it stands however, the two of them have long been one of the most dynamic combinations in the NRL and they are both much better benefiting from each others abilities, but I find it all the more impressive that Bowen can achieve such lofty numbers while sharing the load with JT.
Bowen and Thurston share one of the best on field connections in the NRL
Two knee reconstructions and the effects of age have lead to Bowen slowing down, slightly, but if you watch him in action, you'll think the suggestion that he has slowed down must be crazy. He still has blistering pace and he's not the least bit shy about pinning his ears back and taking off. One of the greatest things about the Bowen-Thurston connection is seeing Bowen flying through a gap and into open field at full speed after JT has hit him with the perfect pass. It's this blurring speed that has seen him amass a whopping 124 career tries so far throughout his 251 NRL games. He is incredibly agile, he has all the steps, all the swerves, and he can turn on his speed very quickly, if you give him an inch he'll take a mile. But Bowen is so much more than just a speed freak, as his stats suggest. As he has gotten older, he's become progressively wiser, and he's now one of the most astute playmakers in the game. He could very easily slip into the halves if it was required, but it would be a waste of his blinding speed to have him stand around waiting at first or second receiver, though he does step into that role from time to time. He has all the tools you want in the halves, a great kicking game, a great passer, and he thinks the game at such a high level like the best halves do. You wrap all of this up and you have the freakish combination that Bowen brings to the table, the blinding speed and agility of a star wing or fullback, combined with the kicking and playmaking and creativity of a top halves player, vastly experienced, and he's a fantastic leader too. It's this sort of versatile, all around ability that saw Bowen selected primarily selected as an interchange player throughout his 10 Origin appearances.
Speedy Gonzalez or the Road Runner?
I posted the videos above for two reasons. The most obvious being to show off the amazing speed that he possesses by running down some of the other "speedsters in the competition, but also to illustrate what Bowen brings to the table defensively. Bowen's claim to fame no doubt is his attacking wizardry, but he's also very reliable on the defensive side also. His blazing speed allows him to chase down guys on the break that very few others in the competition would be able to reel in. The play on Locke is particularly impressive, the way he reads what Locke is doing, lures Locke in to taking him on outside, and then reigning him in. Very, very few people in the NRL would be able to run down Kevin Locke, Bowen is one of them. This type of thing isn't what most people traditionally think of when they think about defense, they think about the tackle machine forwards up front, but having a guy who can cut down those open field breaks is a wonderful asset to a defense. Bowen's also very courageous under the high ball and he brings them in reliably, there's no weakness to target here, Bowen stands up to be counted defensively. He's one of the smaller guys in the competition at 175cm and 85kg, but he's actually got some real strength to him, and while he won't be allowed to do it in 2013, he's laid out a few guys with the shoulder during his years. He plays the game like he's 7 foot tall and he's got as much heart and toughness as anyone in the competition.
A familiar sight
Check back in tomorrow for the final instalment before we move into single digit territory. Any comments, suggestions, criticisms, give me a tweet @WellsNorthShore
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