PRIDE’S SHAWN BOWEN MAKES FAMOUS NAME HIS OWN
BOWEN may be a name synonymous with scoring tries and a Northern Pride rookie could well demand another start after adding to an already impressive tally.
Winger Shawn Bowen’s first career double against PNG Hunters last weekend took him to seven tries in eight Intrust Super Cup games, keeping the heat on strong competition for the left side spot Justin Castellaro occupied in Round 1.
The 21-year-old has been under the wing of returned veteran Brett Anderson, who was impressed at Bowen’s speed and strength despite his 85kg frame.
“I think he’s a talent, the little lad,” Anderson said.
“He can certainly finish. I mean his pace is obviously the main thing. The old saying is: ‘You can’t beat speed’.”
The premiership centre said he hadn’t done anything “out of the ordinary” to influence Bowen and put his feats down to a strong forward pack helping to create space out wide.
“Ty Williams (coach) just put him on my wing through most of the off-season and I just spoke to him a lot about how we should defend and he’s been nothing but ears, which is awesome,” Anderson said.
Northern Pride captain Ryan Ghietti joked “it’s just that last name” after Saturday’s win and said consistency in both attack and defence at training and on match day was essential to securing a spot.
“He’s just casual, he does what he does on the left wing there, but Brett Anderson has been really good in the off-season talking to him and he’s buying into what they’re doing on that edge, so he’s only going to get better the young fella,” he said.
Anderson said the win was important to reinforce the selfbelief players carried into the preseason and hoped to ride it into the club securing a maiden win away to Townsville Blackhawks this weekend.
“It’s a big confidence booster and it’s not that we didn’t believe we had a good squad or anything,” he said.
“We knew we were pretty good against Wynnum and knew what we needed to fix and we did that to a pretty good degree against the Hunters.
“It’s a big confidence booster, and (Townsville) got rolled on the weekend too, so they’re probably going to be keen to bounce back. It should be good.”
Williams will name his squad today for the Rivalry Round clash. The coach has hinted Todd Carney may not play unless fully recovered from a minor lat strain.
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