Bowen to have last swansong at Auckland Nines

Matty Bowen is to make one last appearance for the North Queensland Cowboys in the Auckland Nines tournament. 

The 33 year-old spent his entire NRL career with the Cowboys until a move to England to play for a couple of seasons with the Wigan Warriors.

Bowen has since retired from rugby league, but head coach Paul Green has given the fullback one last opportunity to pull on a Cowboys jersey in the Auckland Nines, and he says it was a chance for everyton to see Bowen one last time.

“When Matt retired from playing for Wigan, we knew he was coming back and working here at the club in the community department,” Green told the Cowboys’ official website.

“Given that he had only just retired playing professionally, it was a great opportunity for the club and the supporters to see him one last time in a Cowboys jersey. He’s a wonderfully skillful player and can play what’s in front of him, which is one of his strengths, and Nines is the sort of game where you do get attacking opportunities so I think he’ll be very good at it but I think it’ll be great for the fans to see him play. 

Bowen has already expressed his delight at being given the chance to play once more for the club, and is thankful to Green for handing him the opportunity. 

“I’ve been back at the club for a good part of two weeks and I’ve been training with the boys,” Bowen told the club’s website.

“Greeny asked if i wanted to play the Nines and I was over the moon and I was more than happy to. I said I needed to get fit first and did a couple of sessions with the boys and I can’t wait to put the jersey back on now and see what happens in the Nines.”